The dish of the judge and his group

The dish of the judge and his group

The dish of the judge and his group, in Arabic (tabaq al qadi w jamaeatuh).

The many cultures that passed through Algeria left their mark on the Algerian cuisine, which gave it great diversity and richness, as its dishes are countless, but what is sometimes striking is the names of these dishes, which, to say the least, are out of the ordinary with their strangeness and wit.

For example, but not limited to, we mention the dish of the judge and his group, drunk and falling in the droog, and momo in his mother’s lap (the infant in his mother’s lap), the zadam of the agha (the bag of the agha), the gauze mall, and many other names that increased the diversity of Algerian cuisine.
The specialists see that these strange names are derived from the Algerian dialect or one of the components of the dish or its external form. As for our dish today, it dates back to the Ottoman era in Algeria, where it was specially made to glorify the profession of judge, which was one of the highest and noblest professions, and the large piece of chicken symbolizes the position of the judge, as for the small minced meat balls and cracked eggs, they symbolize his group.

The components:

• Chicken pieces
• 2 medium sized chopped onions
• 1 tablespoon of ghee
• A cup of soaked chickpeas
• Minced meat
• Parsley bouquet
• Cinnamon stick, black pepper, salt
• Eggs according to family members

How to prepare:

We put a spoon of ghee in a large pot, add the chicken ends and over a low heat, let them brown well, add the chopped onions and the mentioned spices, black pepper, cinnamon stick and salt and also leave it on a low heat until it wilts completely, then add two cups of water or three.

The important thing is to cover the chicken pieces until they are well cooked, and also add a cup of chickpeas and close the pot.

We prepare the minced meat, to which we add a teaspoon of ghee, black pepper, salt and cinnamon, and mix everything well with our hand, then make small balls and put them in the broth, taking into account that it is a circle around the chicken pieces. When the chicken pieces are cooked, we break the eggs around the chicken pieces as well, and as soon as they are frozen, decorate the dish with chopped parsley and lemon circles.

Bon appetite