kilikini wrote:
> Tracy wrote:
>> 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!).
>>
>
> (snip)
>
> Wow, that really looks good. Do you have a recipe you follow that you'd
> care to share?
>
> kili
>
>
I do, but it is really long.....

Here it is.

Chicken with Lentils and Fenugreek (R'fissa)



8 Chicken Legs or 2 small Chickens cut up
2 or 3 onions sliced
Olive oil
1 small bunch each cilantro and parsley tied with string (5 sprigs each
approx.)
½ cup Lentils, washed
2 tbls whole fenugreek
¼ tsp. ginger
¼ tsp. turmeric
Pinch saffron (optional)
¼ tsp. smen*(see note)
Salt and pepper (this recipe requires a lot of salt—probably at least a
tablespoon-if not more
Water

Heat ¼ cup olive oil in a large dutch oven. Add chicken and onions and
cook for a few minutes. It is not really necessary to brown the chicken.
Add salt, pepper, ginger, turmeric, and saffron if using. Cook on low
with a cover for about 20 minutes. Add the lentils, fenugreek and
enough water to barely cover the chicken. Cover and simmer till chicken
is done and lentils are cooked through—about 45 minutes to an hour.
While the chicken is simmering you can start the m’simmen.

*Smen is aged butter that has a very strong flavor. You either like it
or you don’t. Not all Moroccans like to use it in this dish – I don’t
often have any – so I don’t use it.


M’simmen

These pancakes are very labor intensive but the ingredients are few.

Warm Water
4 cups durum flour
1 cup all purpose flour
Salt
Vegetable oil (some use a combination of butter and oil – but I just use
oil)

Combine the flours with 1 Tablespoon of salt. Sprinkle with warm water
until you can form a dough. It all depends on the weather how much
water you will need-probably about a cup or so. Knead the dough till it
is not too sticky any more and then sprinkle more water on it and
incorporate it into the dough. Do this a couple of times until the
dough is soft. By hand this takes a long time but with a mixer it is
very quick.

Place the ball of dough on a large greased platter and oil the dough as
well. It might help to let it rest for a few minutes.

Next, have an oiled platter ready. Oil your hands and tear away chunks
of dough about the size of a tangerine - and as if you were making a
roll pull the sides under to make a nice smooth ball. You can also push
the dough between your connected index finger and thumb. Everything
should be nicely coated with oil. Repeat with remaining dough.

Make sure your counter is nice and clean – or you can use a very large
flat platter. Moroccans use something called a g’sra – it looks like
the bottom of a traditional Moroccan tagine (the one with the cone
shaped top) but much bigger in diameter.

Oil your clean counter and your hands and take the first formed ball and
spread it out as thin as you can, starting from the middle of the ball.
They should spread very easily; if they don’t then you did not knead
the dough enough. Tears in the dough are ok. They should spread to
about 12 x 12 or even bigger – it should be as thin as you can get
without tearing lots of holes in the dough. Fold it in thirds like a
letter (using a “C” fold) turn and fold into thirds again. Set aside.
You should have something maybe 3 or 4 inches square. Repeat with
remaining balls of dough. Once you have folded 2 or three you can begin
frying them. You can continue to fold as you wait for the ones that are
frying.

You should be sprinkling the dough with oil as you go as well.

To cook the breads:

Heat a large flat heavy pan (I use a cast iron griddle) and sprinkle
with a bit of oil. Take one of your folded “packets” and spread it out
to about 6 x 6 inches square (the dough should spread very easily) Place
on the hot pan. And let it brown on both sides. A little bit of black
is ok. They take about 5 minutes a side. Set the finished ones aside
in a large platter with a lip that will serve as your serving dish. I
use a large pasta style platter. After you have a couple finished, you
need to shred them. When you folded them you created a bunch of layers.
Now each layer needs to be separated. Just pull them apart and tear
the layers into 2 inch pieces. The outside is crisp and the inside is
soft and elastic. Just tear everything up and keep them covered with a
towel.

To serve: ladle some of the liquid from the chicken onto the shredded
bread. Place the chicken pieces around the middle in a pile then top
with the sauce making sure you get the lentils from the pot. Like most
Moroccan dishes this is a communal dish. Give each person a fork and dig
in. Some would eat this with their hands –but I don’t recall ever seeing
a Moroccan eat THIS DISH with their hands.