How to Make Algerian Mhadjeb

Mhadjeb is delicious if you are an adventurous eater! This dough is also perfect for making other kinds of hot pockets.

Watch me make it here!

YouTube

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Prep Time: 30 minutes

Rest Time: 75 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients	Instructions
3.5 cups semolina flour	Step 1 Make the dough. Mix the semolina flour, all-purpose flour, and salt in a bowl with a wooden spoon. Add water little by little and continue folding and mixing with the wooden spoon. The dough should be flexible but not sticky.
1.5 cups all-purpose flour	Step 2 Wet a large Ziploc bag with warm water, place the dough ball inside, and seal it up. Let the dough rest for 1 hour.
1.5 - 2 cups water	Step 3   Prepare filling. Clean and slice onions. Wash tomatoes and cut off tops. Slightly blend the tomatoes.
2.5 teaspoons salt	Step 4  Add onions and 1 tablespoon olive oil to a pan with tall sides. Cook on medium heat until golden brown. Add the crushed tomatoes, paprika, Ras El Hanout, tomato paste, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix together, cover, and let simmer for about 10 minutes on medium heat. Stir occasionally so it does not burn.
sunflower oil (or safflower, which I accidently used)	Step 5   Once the sauce is cooked, you can choose to add sugar if the sauce is too acidic. Mix together then let the sauce cool completely.
5 large tomatoes	Step 6   After letting the dough rest, oil your hands and separate the dough into balls roughly the size of an orange. Put them on a tray lightly covered with sunflower oil and cover them with plastic wrap. Let them rest for about 15 minutes.
3 yellow onions	Step 7   Grease the counter with sunflower oil. Coat your hands with oil and flatten the ball so that it becomes larger and finer. Stretch the dough out to make a rectangle. You need more oil than you think. You may get some holes in the dough, but that is okay.
1 tablespoon tomato paste	Step 8 When you have a rectangle of thin dough, fold the dough into the center using the long edge. Do the same on the other side.
1/4 teaspoon Ras El Hanout	Step 9 Put a thin layer of tomato sauce on the middle part of the dough and close it on one side and then on the other. Tuck the edges a bit so none of the filling falls out.
2 teaspoons paprika	Step 10 Warm a pan with 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil, or enough to grease the bottom of the pan. Place the mhadjeb in the pan and cook on each side until golden brown. About 5 minutes per side on medium-high heat.
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon sugar (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

If you are having trouble visualizing the folding technique, this is the original recipe website which has pictures to guide you!

If you make this recipe, I want to see! Tag @thatcountrycook on Instagram.

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