I made an old fashioned Moroccan dinner last night. It is the kid's
favorite Moroccan meal. It's called R'fissa (that's how I spell it!) and
it consists of chicken, onions and fenugreek simmered until done and
served over a sort of shredded fried bread called msimmen (also, how I
spell it!).

The msimmen are made from a combination of durum flour, regular flour,
water and salt. I use my kitchenaid, but I have done it by hand.

I used about 4 cups of durum and one cup of all purpose flour, a
tablespoon of salt and enough warm water to make a soft dough - 2 to 3
cups maybe. It doesn't make a ball - it is really quite stringy. I
usually add too much water - let it go for a bit - a couple of minutes,
then add flour until it looks right.

Once you have your dough ready - oil your hands, and a platter. Remove
the dough to the oiled platter and let it sit for a few minutes. Make
sure the dough is also oiled.

Divide the dough into balls - by pinching off a clump about the size of
Clementine or tangerine. Tuck the edges under to make a nice smooth
ball. This recipe makes about 9 or 10 balls.

http://i33.tinypic.com/xf3fj9.jpg

Each ball will need to be spread out as thinly as possible like this:

http://i37.tinypic.com/29lhiea.jpg

I use a platter but you can use your counter. Make sure the platter or
counter is also oiled.
When spreading out the dough, your hands also need to be oiled.

Once it is spread out as thin as you can get it - the dough should
easily spread - fold it into thirds like a "C" fold, turn and do it
again till you have something that looks like this:

http://i34.tinypic.com/6ss7l1.jpg

The next step is to fry the msimmen. I use a cast iron griddle. Get it
nice and hot and sprinkle some oil on it.
Take one of the packages and sort of flatten it a bit. It should
continue to spread very easily. The original package is probably about 4
inches by 4 inches. Flatten it more till it is about 6 bu 6. Drop in on
the hot griddle and brown it well so it looks like these:

http://i36.tinypic.com/2q9f3mt.jpg

http://i36.tinypic.com/2410znc.jpg

I place the finished msimmen onto a platter and cover them with a towel:

http://i35.tinypic.com/13yni37.jpg

The next step is to shred them - so they look like this:

http://i33.tinypic.com/2wmoutd.jpg

You have to pull them apart and break up the layers in between. They are
crusty on the outside but stretchy and doughy on the inside.

Finally, you place the simmered chicken along with some of the broth on
top. It is not the most beautiful looking dish, but it tastes amazing.

http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=21kwnih&s=4

http://i35.tinypic.com/242vjv8.jpg

This dish is very old fashioned. It is traditionally made when someone
has a baby. Fenugreek is supposedly good for nursing mothers.

-Tracy

(The pictures are a combination of pictures I took last night and the
time I made it before. It is really difficult to take pictures when your
hands are covered in oil!)