"Chalita"... The dish of the rich andthe poor in Bordj Bou Arreridj
Algeria is a continent, not only from the angle of its area, which approaches two and a half million square meters, ranking first in the Arab world and Africa, after the partition of Sudan in 2011, but also in terms of the diversity of its cuisine, which varies almost every hundred kilometers. Even dishes with a national extension, such as "couscous" and "Al-Shakhkokha", are themselves rich in many variations, from one side to the other.
Bordj Bou Arreridj, 200 km to the east of Algiers, is known as the capital of the "Chilita" dish.
Certain regions monopolize the proportion of certain dishes to them, even if they are extended in other regions, so you are known by them, you are intended for them, and they are a place of honor for the arrivals and bragging among the residents. We find this in Biskra and Wadi Souf with the “Doubarah” dish, in Bousaada with the “Zufiti” dish, in Tlemcen and its neighboring cities with “Al-Harira”, and in Constantine with “Shakhkouh al-Zafar”.
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The Bordj Bou Arreridj area, 200 km to the east of Algiers, is known as the capital of the "Chalita" dish, and it has other lesser known names, such as "Al-Hamis", so that the name of the region, especially the capital of the state and the Berber joints of it, is associated with it.
The dish "Shaleta" consists of peppers, usually preferably hot, tomatoes, garlic and olive oil. There are other additions that may make it a similar dish called "shakshuka". Where the ingredients are fried in oil or grilled on the fire, and they are cut and olive oil is poured over them, with the possibility of using municipal ghee in its place.
“Braijia,” as the residents of Bordj Bou Arreridj are called, prefer to eat shalita with “Kasra” or “Matloo,” which are two breads made at home. They also prefer milk as a companion, because drinking water is not suitable for hot food. And from the popular proverb, "The pain and the hot so that the pain and the fire." That is, they do not meet. We also find a popular proverb in praise of spicy food that says: “The food is without spicy, so that the man without a home.”
Poet and person interested in popular culture, Rachid Belmoun, told "Ultra Algeria" that there are contexts that have led to the perpetuation of the region's inclination for hot food, including the fact that it is a high and cold area, with generous soil in the production of vegetables, and the consequent spices.
Rachid Belmoumen added: “The popular imagination in the region linked eating spicy food with courage and masculinity, in exchange for the ridicule of those who avoid it except for health reasons. Some families use hot pepper or hot harissa only in milk. This is the reality that prompts children to eat. They have had a hot taste since their childhood.”
In the castle square in the heart of Bordj Bou Arreridj, we asked a group of young people, between the ages of 15 and 35: “Which would you answer, an invitation to grilled meat or an invitation to shalit?” So he chose seven out of ten for the second invitation. She asked them to call their family to ask if she had prepared the shalita that day, and the score was 8 out of 10.
The young man Fateh, 22 years old, says that he can be satisfied with the shaleta dish throughout the year, if the human stomach can tolerate it, and if the shaleta provides all the nutrients that his body needs, “it combines the characteristics of appetizers, as it motivates you to eat more And the characteristics of the main dishes, as it provides you with a feeling of satiety. All this at low costs.”
There are those who are satisfied with "shaleta" as a single dish for lunch or dinner. And there are those who make it a companion to other dishes. Few are those who miss it completely. His absence may cause tension between the husband and his wife, as one of the lawyers mentioned to me that he received a divorce case because the husband did not find the “shalita” on the table, in the month of Ramadan, when the shalitah rises to the place of the sacred dish. On the other hand, "Shalaita" can cause the restoration of strained family and human relations.
Shaleta is a dish that attracts the poor and the rich. And imposes himself on the tables of both parties. The only difference between them remains the ability of each party to provide hot pepper, in periods when it is scarce, which leads to a high price, especially during the winter, where it reaches more than 200 dinars, compared to 50 dinars during the summer.
The absence of class differentiation, in the Shaleta dish, and its availability in all homes, made the pioneers of social networking sites Facebook review it and brag about their ways of preparing and presenting it. Cheb Sherif tells Ultra Algeria that he is not afraid to provoke the appetite of the poor and needy when he publishes pictures of shalita, because it is available to everyone, "in contrast to dishes that require a certain financial level."
Writer Rachid Belmomen: "There are contexts that have perpetuated the region's residents' preference for hot food, including the fact that it is a high and cold area."
It is the human factor, which the storyteller Issa bin Mahmoud, the owner of the short story collection “The Shaleta Floods the City,” focused on in his statement to “Ultra Algeria”. He says that the conflict between social classes has existed and will continue to exist. There are simple dishes that have been able to bridge the gap between them, and create common pleasure between the poor and the rich. Which gives it a special blessing. He asks: "Why do we not have studies, research, and literary works that work on dishes that extend into popular reality and imagination, and enjoy a special popular sanctity?"
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