Karantika

Karantika (Arabic: كارنتيكا) is an iconic Algerian street food sold throughout Algeria by street vendors. It has similarities to pies, pancakes, and flans and consists of a chickpea batter topped with beaten egg and baked, and is served with harissa and cumin either hot on bread as a sandwich, or sliced into squares.

Karantika
A slice of Karantika
TypePie
CourseMeal, snack, side dish, sandwich filling
Place of originAlgeria
Region or stateOran
Associated cuisineAlgerian cuisine, Mediterranean cuisine
Serving temperatureHot
Main ingredientsChickpea
Ingredients generally usedOil, eggs
VariationsSeveral variants in other Mediterranean coastal countries
A large pan of commercially-prepared Karantika

It originated in and remains a specialty of Oran, where it was first introduced by Spanish invaders in the 16th century, and was spread throughout Algeria during the French occupation of the country.

The dish is also served in restaurants and made in homes and even riched neighboring countries like Morocco in the past years due to the influence of the Algerian cuisine channels on the Maghreb region.

Etymology

The dish is known by many names, including al-hami[lower-alpha 1] and valentina; spellings in English may include garantita, karantita, karane, kalantita, quaratita, kalentica, karentita, and caran.[1][2][3] The name is derived from caliantetorta,[1] roughly "hot tart" in Spanish or from calantita, "hot".[4] The dish is referred to in Algeria as "the protector", a play on words in the Western Algerian dialect.[2]

History

The dish is of Hispanic-Oran origin and can also be found in France, Spain and other European countries with large Algerian populations as well as in Morocco, where it is known as kalinti.[5][6][7]

It was introduced in Oran by Spanish invaders and remains a specialty of the area.[4][8] According to some histories, the dish was introduced in Oran during the Ottoman siege of Oran's Spanish garrison during the 16th and 17th century Spanish occupation of Oran when dried chickpeas and chickpea flour were the only foodstuffs readily available.[4][8][9] During the French occupation of Algeria in the 1800s, the Spanish settled in Algeria and spread the dish throughout the country.[9]

Originally it was a poverty food but eventually became popular throughout Algerian society.[2][4] According to The New Arab, the dish is an iconic Algerian street food.[3]

Ingredients, preparation, and serving
A calentica vendor in Oran

The dish is based on unroasted chickpea flour, oil, and water mixed to form a liquid batter, which is rested to hydrate the flour, topped with beaten egg and baked.[1][6][10][7] It is served hot on bread or as cut slices, often with harissa and cumin.[1][2][4][lower-alpha 2]

The dish is present throughout the country as a street food sold by vendors and is also made in homes and restaurants.[6][10][9]

Similar dishes

Similar dishes are found throughout the Mediterranean coast.[11]

Notes
  1. which means hot in Algerian dialect
  2. baguette is usually used as the main ingredient

References
  1. "Garantita | Traditional Street Food From Algeria". TasteAtlas. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  2. ""Cornita" or "Karan": an Algerian food that does not distinguish between the poor and rich". العربية Al Arabiya (in Arabic). 2022-06-22. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  3. Bouarrouj, Khelil (2023-06-14). "How North African food became a staple at the dinner table". The New Arab. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  4. بوطيبة, نور الهدى (2022-06-26). "Carnitica: a dish invented by the Spaniards and embraced by the Algerians". El Massa (in Arabic). Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  5. Albala, Ken (2011). Food cultures of the world encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, Calif: Greenwood. ISBN 978-0-313-37626-9.
  6. Marks, Copeland (1994). The great book of couscous : classic cuisines of Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. Internet Archive. New York : D.I. Fine. ISBN 978-1-55611-420-5.
  7. "Moroccan Kalinti - A Savory Chickpea and Egg Flan". The Spruce Eats. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  8. Omar, Haneen (20 December 2014). "Crantica: a dish invented by the Spaniards in Oran". Al-Araby Al-Jadeed (in Arabic). Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  9. Aziz, Ahmed (2016-12-02). "Karantika, a dish that brings together the poor and the rich in Algeria". Hespress- هسبريس جريدة إلكترونية مغربية (in Arabic). Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  10. "GARANTITA (ALGERIAN CHICKPEA PIE)". food.com. Archived from the original on 2023-08-24. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
  11. d'Echon, Emmanuel Guillemain. "Certains l'aiment chaude". Libération (in French). Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  12. "Calentita". TasteAtlas.


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