Algerian recipe
How to make Karantika (garantita)
كارنتيكا
Oran and western Algeria, now sold across the country
A baked chickpea-flour custard with a golden, egg-glazed top, sold hot by street vendors in squares or tucked into bread and sprinkled with cumin and harissa.
Ingredients
- 250 g chickpea flour (gram flour)
- 1 litre water
- 100 ml sunflower oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin, plus more to serve
- 1 egg, beaten, for the top
- Harissa and baguettes to serve
Method
- Heat the oven to 220 °C and oil a baking tin of about 30 x 20 cm.
- Whisk the chickpea flour with the water, oil, salt and cumin until smooth, then leave it to rest for 10 minutes.
- Pour the batter into the tin; it should be about 2 cm deep. Bake for 20 minutes, until it starts to set.
- Brush the top with the beaten egg and bake for 10 to 15 minutes more, until it is firm and golden. Make sure the egg is fully cooked.
- Cut into squares and serve warm, sprinkled with cumin, with harissa, on its own or inside a piece of baguette.
Made it at home? Tick it off and it goes into your kitchen passport.
The name is usually traced to the Spanish word caliente, 'hot', from the centuries when Spain held Oran.
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