Top 10 local foods to try in Algeria

travel to Algeria. When you want to travel here, first you have to do the visa procedure. You can get a positive response after applying for an Algeria tourist visa. You can be in this country within 90 days of obtaining the visa. There will be a waiting period of about 10 to 20 days before you can get an Algeria tourist visa. However, this process may differ from country to country. The cost of getting an Algeria tourist visa can range from $15 to $160. However, prices vary from country to country. Documents required for Algeria visa are: • Application Form • Two Photos (3.5x4.5) • Passport and Copy of the Main Page • Copy of ID Card • Residence Permit / Visa Copy • Invitation Letter • Proof of Accommodation • Travel Insurance • Flight Ticket Reservation • Letter from Local Employer To get an Algeria tourist visa, you can apply to the Algerian embassy, consulate, or visa application centers in your country. If these are not available in your country, then you can apply at the nearest embassy. You can find more information about Algeria's tourist visas on our official website (Pickvisa.com).

What is Algerian food?/What is traditional Algerian food?

Algerian cuisine betete is rich with delicious dishes. Algerian gastronomy is very rich, thanks to the different culinary cultures of its regions. Algerian cuisine reflects its history, and thanks to the names of its dishes and the flavors felt at each meal we can guess the mixed heritage of Algeria. Traditional Algerian cuisine is a colorful combination of different dishes. Unfortunately, this culinary wealth is ultimately little valued outside Algerian homes. We love to eat traditional cuisine with the family, the heritage from generation to generation few gourmet restaurants offer Algerian culinary diversity, whether in Algeria or abroad. To understand the taste of Algerian food, we must first find an answer to the question of what is Algerian food. We can prepare great meals by researching Algerian food recipes. You can find Algerian food recipes in TV shows or food journals. To help you in your quest for the Algerian culinary tradition, we have made a selection of ten Algerian dishes that you absolutely must try once in your life.

1. Sheikha Biskra

Southeast Algeria is full of culinary traditions. However, we have a weakness for the famous Sheikha Biskra, a complete and generous dish. This dish is made with light leaves that are also found in the seed, and a red sauce spiced up with lamb or chicken and accompanied by many vegetables such as zucchini or carrots. This dish is shared, so it will often be served in a large central dish where each guest will help himself. Other regions have variations of this dish. The northeast of Algeria prepares this dish with very spicy red sauce, chickpeas, and lamb meat under the name of Frida tajine. In the west, it is called rouging and is prepared in a white sauce with chicken, cinnamon, turnips, and carrots.

2. Pink couscous

Couscous was bound to take pride in our list as it represents Algerian and North African cuisine as a whole. The pink couscous seemed interesting to us to discover. Because it is little cooked and it is unique in the whole Maghreb region. A tradition from Miliana pink couscous owes its name to pomegranates that are cooked with very light semolina. Rose also for rose water which perfumes couscous. Now there are also versions with orange blossom. This couscous is best enjoyed hot for very special occasions and will be offered instead during the summer.

3. Mesfouf

Another variation of couscous is mesfouf which is popular throughout Algeria. Mesfouf is a sweet couscous that is eaten without sauce but with semolina alone and raisins, accompanied by a good glass of Leben. Its specificity is that it is eaten cold, unlike traditional couscous in red and white sauce. Kabylia does it to perfection and consumes it very regularly, and it can be found based on raisins and peas and still fresh beans. This dish is one of the lightest couscous and the only one in a vegetarian version.

4. Rechta

The Algiers Rechta also has its peculiarity. If you pass through the Algerian capital, stop at any popular or chic restaurant to discover Rechta, a dish eaten by all social classes. Rechta is made from thin, hand-prepared pasta that looks like very light spaghetti. This dish makes Algerian cuisine even more delicious. The Rechta is served with a white sauce made from cinnamon, onions, and chicken meat, we add chickpeas, zucchini, and turnips. The dish, although generous, is light and can be eaten endlessly. The Rechta would have Turkish-Mongolian origins and an Algerian personalization. Rechta comes from the Persian word “rista” which means “thread”, to qualify the fine pasta that makes up this dish.

5. Mechmachia maamra

It’s impossible to miss the sweet and savory recipes of Algeria. To taste it, we suggest a tour of Tlemcen, which excels in the balance of these two flavors. We prefer mechmachia maamra, a tagine of mutton or lamb accompanied by apricots or medlars and flavored with saffron and orange blossom. Tlemcen located in the far west of Algeria, offers a very varied cuisine, due to its various influences: Barbar, Andalusian and Arab. The city thus offers a series of dishes where the sweet meets the salty, perfectly cooking the fruits and spices of the region.

6. Lham Lahlou

Copyright: @lesdouceursdemaelys Lham Lahlou is a dish that unites all of Algeria. This dish is one of the traditional Algerian food. It brings together sweet and savory again, which is consumed during ceremonies such as weddings or Ramadan as a second course or at the end of a meal, it takes the place of a dessert dish. Lham Lahlou, which is consumed all over the country, has many faces. Its recipe varies according to the regions where it is cooked. Lham Lahlou consists of lamb or mutton accompanied by dried fruits, and its sauce is creamy, soft, and sweet, like a kind of honey. Most of the time, you will find raisins and prunes, in some versions, you can add apricots and almonds.

7. Taguella tanadaras

Taguella tanadaras is a typical dish from the Sahara to try to make an excursion to southern Algeria. This dish is made from hand-made bread baked under the sand, called taguella. Before being baked, the bread dough is kneaded for a long time. This bread and its special cooking method give it an incredibly hot and smoky taste. Taguella tanadaras consists of crumbling this bread baked under the hot ashes of a fire set above the sand. The bread is cooked in a red sauce made from tomatoes and vegetables, it will be accompanied by mutton. This dish is also to be shared in the magnificent dunes of the Sahara.

8. Mtewem or Kefta

Copyright: @lapetitepaniere Who is not a fan of meatballs? It falls because Algerian cuisine also has its versions of minced meatballs in sauce. In Algeria, we will eat mtewem, a dish with a strong garlic flavor. It is made with beef meatballs heavily seasoned with garlic and cumin and pieces of lamb. There is cinnamon, grated onion, and clarified chickpea butter in this food. The mtewem will be served with a dash of lemon and parsley. The other version is the kefta in red sauce, which can be found all over the country. It will be tasted with spicy and lightly lemony dumplings in eastern Algeria. It can also be eaten as a tagine in the west, including peas and carrots. Traditional Algerian cuisine is a colorful combination of different dishes like Mtewem or kefta.

9. Kebda mchermla

Kebda mchermla is indispensable for Algerian cuisine betete. If you like internal organs, you will be delighted to taste the kebda mchermla. It is mutton or lamb liver, according to your tastes in meat, prepared in red sauce. The recipe is very simple. The sauce consists of tomatoes, garlic, parsley, coriander, and cumin. The sauce is impregnated with the taste of liver which gives it character. Likewise, this dish cooked all over the country has different versions. You can cook kebda mchermla with more spices such as caraway, saffron, or paprika.

10. Leek barbecue (Mechoui)

You will also have to let yourself be tempted by the tradition of mechoui. The region of Laghouat in southern Algeria is renowned for the quality of its barbecue. Lamb and sheep breeding regions, its meat is of very high quality. For special occasions, we prepare a very delicate barbecue with leeks. Know-how comes from the city of Aflou, where the meat is first cooked over a wood fire and spit out to finalize over the embers of the fire. Be careful, the barbecue is eaten with the hands or not.