Chtitha Explained

Chtitha
Alternate Name:	Chtit'ha, Shtitha
Course:	Main course
Main Ingredient:	Meat
Place Of Origin:	Algeria

Chtitha (Arabic: شطيطحة) is a family of dishes in Algerian cuisine, originally of the tajine type,^{[1] [2]} with a base consisting of a sauce made of chickpeas and meat, mostly chicken^[3] cooked in a red sauce, heavily seasoned with the Algerian condiment derssa, and the meat is ideally marinated in it for a few hours beforehand^[4]

It is named chtitha, which translates to 'little dance,' indicative of its spiciness.^[5]

The chtitha comes in about ten different dishes, each featuring a specific central ingredient. The intricate combination of spices and aromatic herbs is tailored to each ingredient, imparting a unique flavor to each chtitha.^[6]

Variants

• Chtitha djedj, with chicken^[7]
• Chtitha lhem, with meat
• Chtitha qamroune, with shrimp^[8]
• Chtitha batata besselq, with potatoes and spinach
• Chtitha bel bid, with eggs^[9]
• Chtitha batata fliou, requiring the same recipe as chtitha batata besselq, replacing spinach with pennyroyal mint^[10]
• Chtitha mokh, with sheep's brain
• Chtitha bouzellouf, with sheep's head
• Chtitha sardine, with sardines^[11]

Notes and References

1. Book: Bouzerdouma, Fatima . L' Orient'able, Specialite Du Maghreb . 2014-08-23 . TheBookEdition . 978-1-291-96187-4 . fr.
2. Rahmouni . Djamila . 2023-07-10 . Promouvoir l'attractivité territoriale par l'activité culinaire traditionnelle : cas du projet de couscous de LAHLOU . Revue tadamsa d'unegmu . fr . 3 . 2 . 71–82 . 2800-1427.
3. Book: Mourton . Guillaume . Cuisine algérienne . André . Patrick . Chaumeton . Hervé . 2008-10-06 . Editions Artemis . 978-2-84416-769-9 . 18 . fr.
4. Book: Bouayed . Fatima-Zohra . La Cuisine algérienne . Būʿayyād . Maḥmūd . 1983 . Temps actuels [diffusion] Messidor . 978-2-201-01648-6 . Paris.
5. Boumedine . Rachid Sidi . 2022-12-01 . Cuisines traditionnelles d'Algérie: l'art d'accommoder l'histoire et la géographie . Anthropology of the Middle East . en . 17 . 2 . 48–63 . 10.3167/ame.2022.170204 . 1746-0719. free .
6. Web site: BRAISED CHICKEN IN CHTITHA SAUCE WITH CHICKPEAS / Region: ALGERIA . 2024-01-22 . Cuisine Magazine - From New Zealand to the World . en-US.
7. Book: Bouayed . Fatima-Zohra . La Cuisine algérienne . Būʿayyād . Maḥmūd . 1983 . Temps actuels [diffusion] Messidor . 978-2-201-01648-6 . Paris . 69 . fr.
8. Book: Bouayed, Fatima-Zohra . La Cuisine Algérienne . 1983 . Temps actuels [diffusion] Messidor . 978-2-201-01648-6 . Paris . 53.
9. Book: Bouayed, Fatima-Zohra . La Cuisine Algérienne . 1983 . Temps actuels [diffusion] Messidor . 978-2-201-01648-6 . Paris . 70.
10. Web site: 2022-06-17 . Chtitha Batata - African Food Network . 2024-01-22 . en-US.
11. Slimani, Kamilia, and Hayat Khicha. Valorisation du patrimoine culinaire" rituel des festivités collectives et différenciation sociale et culinaire de deux régions (" Ait Ikhlef" Bouzeguene et" At Gouaret" At Djennad) de Kabylie entre hier et aujourd’hui". Diss. Université Mouloud Mammeri de Tizi-Ouzou, 2017.