Chakhchoukha (Algerian Torn Bread in Lamb Stew)

About This Recipe

Chakhchoukha is one of the great dishes of the Algerian interior — particularly associated with the Biskra and Batna regions of the Aurès mountains. It belongs to the ancient tradition of bread-based stews found across North Africa and the Levant: a thin, wheat flatbread (rougag) is baked dry then torn into rough pieces, which are rehydrated and swollen by ladling a rich lamb and chickpea stew over them. The bread absorbs the sauce completely, becoming a tender, flavour-saturated mass that bears no resemblance to the crispy flatbread it started as. Chakhchoukha is always made for gatherings and celebrations — making rougag alone requires two people and considerable skill.

Ingredients

Serves 6

• 800 gbone-in lamb shoulder(cut into large pieces)
• 1 tin (400g)chickpeas(drained)
• 3tomatoes(diced)
• 2onions(diced)
• 2garlic cloves(minced)
• 1 tbsptomato paste
• 1 tspras el hanout
• 1 tspground cumin
• 1 tspsweet paprika
• 0.5 tspcinnamon
• 0.5 tspturmeric
• 3 tbspolive oil
• 1 litrewater or stock
• 2 tspsalt
• 200 gthin flatbread or rougag(or use store-bought thin lavash, broken into pieces)
• 1 handfulfresh cilantro(to serve)

Instructions

1. 1

   Brown lamb

   Heat oil in a large heavy pot. Brown lamb pieces all over in batches, 4 min per side. Remove and set aside.

2. 2

   Build sauce

   In the same pot, fry onions 8 min until golden. Add garlic, tomato paste, and all spices — stir 1 min. Add diced tomatoes and cook 5 min.

3. 3

   Braise

   Return lamb. Add water or stock to nearly submerge. Bring to a boil, skim foam, then cover and simmer 90 min on low heat until lamb is very tender.

4. 4

   Add chickpeas

   Add chickpeas in the last 20 min. Taste and adjust salt. The sauce should be plentiful and richly coloured.

5. 5

   Prepare bread

   Break flatbread into rough 5cm pieces. Place in a wide, deep serving dish.

   Traditional rougag is paper-thin and breaks into small, irregular shards. Lavash bread or thin mountain bread is the closest substitute.

6. 6

   Assemble and serve

   Ladle the hot stew (with plenty of sauce) over the broken bread pieces. Let rest 3 min so the bread absorbs the sauce and softens completely. Lift the shreds of lamb from the bones. Garnish with fresh cilantro and serve from the communal dish.

Variations

• •

  Vegetarian version: omit lamb, double the chickpeas and add diced potato and carrot

• •

  Some regions add dried apricots or plums to the stew for a sweet note

• •

  Chorba frik (cracked wheat soup) is a related Algerian dish using wheat berries instead of bread

• •

  Spicier: add a finely chopped fresh chile or a teaspoon of crushed Aleppo/Urfa pepper to the aromatics for warm, layered heat instead of a single sharp hit.

Storage

The stew keeps 4 days refrigerated. Assemble with fresh bread portions each time — pre-assembled chakhchoukha becomes mushy when stored.

Frequently Asked Questions