recipe-1

Recipe-1 › Curries of the world › Chtitha djej

Algiers, Algeria

Chtitha djej

Algerian chicken in a red sauce of paprika, garlic and caraway, cooked with chickpeas.

Chtitha djej
Close to the base recipe Medium

Too hot for you? Use half the chilli (powder, paste or fresh chillies) and leave out the green chillies.

New here? How this page works

Recipe-1 is one simple curry recipe in nine steps: fry onions and green chillies, add your vegetables or meat, add chilli powder and turmeric, then water and salt, and boil. With small changes the same nine steps make curries from all over the world.

This page takes those nine steps and shows what to change to make Chtitha djej. You don’t need to read anything else first: every base step is written out below. The changes are worked out on paper from what is typical for this dish; not yet kitchen-tested. Cooked it? Tell others how it went.

Green: the base recipe step (crossed out = do not use it for this dish)Red: what to do instead for Chtitha djej

See the full base recipe (with timers and tips) · See all curries on the world map

You’ll need

How many people?4

The amounts change with the number of people; cooking times stay about the same (use a bigger pot for more). Taste as you go: you can always add more chilli or salt, but you cannot take it out.

Main ingredient: 1 kg Chicken pieces, with chickpeas.

From the base recipe

  • 1 Onions
  • 1 Green chillies
  • 4 tbsp Cooking oil
  • ½ tsp Red chilli powder
  • Turmeric not used
  • 1 tsp · 500 ml Salt and water
  • Ginger garlic paste not used
  • Cloves, cardamom and cinnamon not used
  • Garam masala (optional) not used

Add for Chtitha djej

  • 200 g Chickpeas (soaked or tinned)
  • 2 tbsp Tomato paste
  • 2 tsp Sweet paprika
  • 4 · 1 tsp Garlic and caraway seeds
  • 1 Cinnamon stick

Leave out

  • Turmeric
  • Garam masala

The nine steps, with the changes

Where a step has a red line, do the red line and not the crossed-out green base step. Steps with only green are done just as in the base recipe.

  1. Base step: do not useCut onions and chillies.

    Chtitha djej: do thisGrate the onion; one dried chilli is enough.

  2. Base step: do not useFry in some oil for around 4 minutes on medium-high heat.

    Chtitha djej: do thisFry in olive oil with the garlic until soft.

  3. Base step: do not useCut the vegetable(s) of your choice.

    Chtitha djej: do thisUse the chicken and chickpeas.

  4. Base step: do not useAdd them and fry for around 4 minutes on medium-high heat.

    Chtitha djej: do thisAdd the chicken and brown it, then the tomato paste.

  5. Base step: do not useAdd red chilli powder and turmeric.

    Chtitha djej: do thisAdd paprika, ground caraway and a little chilli instead of turmeric.

  6. Keep frying until just before they start browning.

  7. Base step: do not useAdd some water.

    Chtitha djej: do thisAdd water to half-cover, the chickpeas and a cinnamon stick.

  8. Add salt.

  9. Base step: do not useBoil until the gravy is as thick as you like.

    Chtitha djej: do thisSimmer 30–40 minutes until the sauce is thick and red.

Serve: With bread.

For meat and seafood, make sure it is cooked through: chicken until no pink remains inside; mutton, goat and beef need long, slow cooking.

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Food marks, as on packaged food in India: vegetarian · non-vegetarian (meat, fish or egg). Dishes with both marks can be made either way.

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