رزة القاظي-رْزِيزَة /Traditional Handmade Moroccan Rzeeza or Rzate Lquadi (Lkadi or L9adi) / Moroccan Judge's Turban / Turbans du juge-Crêpe Marocaine ou Rziza ou Rzisa!

 رزة القاظي-رْزِيزَة

This is another traditional typical crepe, very popular in the West region of the Kingdom of Morocco, called Razat El Quadi or El Kadi (رزة القاظي - also spelled Rzeeza or Rzyza or Rziza =رْزِيزَة ), which is a unique Moroccan crepe, that literally means 'Judge's Turban'. Strangely enough, these delicious Moroccan crepes are named after a turban, which is a traditional and rural head dress that Moroccan men wear in some regions, especially in the Sahara (Desert) to protect them from wind, dust, dry hot weather in summer and cold, sandstorms in winter.  A turban is practical because it's easy to wear, it is just twisted (it should not be flat), then shaped into a snail or snake form and put on the head. Along with the turban, men often wear a Jelaba (Djellaba), which is a loose-fitting hooded robe with long, full sleeves, and hand-made leather shoes called Babouche =  بَبُوشْ or Balgha (Balra) = بْلْغَة (The letters "gh" stand for the French "R", similar to a gargling sound in the  back of the throat).  This costume is typical to the rural areas, but in big Cities, men combine Moroccan traditional clothing with western garments.

Rzeeza is usually served during Ramadan and also for special occasions or any-time, but traditionally, Rzeeza is treated as a special breakfast food item for a newly married couple in the West region of Morocco and this occasion is called "Ftour El 3rouss" = فْطُورْ العْرُوسْ, which means = "The Bride's Breakfast". The first breakfast that a newly married couple share, should  be exceptional, so Rzeeza is definitely at the top of the breakfast list for the couple, and usually served along with milk, Msamen, Melwy, stuffed dates, boiled eggs, Harira, croissants, Atay, etc.....  In times past, Rzeeza would be prepared by the bride's aunties or older sisters or grandmother who were considered great bakers or cooks, but there are now bakers' shops or pâtisserie who are able to serve authentic Rzeeza for this special occasion. Both the groom’s and bride’s families (only close family members) would gather around the table to mingle, spend time with one another, introduce themselves and more importantly show their support to the couple in their new life. Rzeeza always brings back fond wonderful childhood memories for me, it was something I look forward to during Ramadan or tea-break after school.

To make those turban crepes, first, the elastic dough should be shaped into long sausages, then folded into spiral or 'snail-shell' shapes, and cooked on a preheated non-stick pan over medium heat.  By the way, I have to confess this is an extremely time consuming crepes, but the end result is worth it, and as they say about physical effort: "No pain, no gain". When served, drizzled with sweet honey on top, it is Heaven on a plate!  I'm posting today, the traditional way to prepare Rzeeza, and I personally prefer this old style to make it, but there are two (2) "No pain ways", but  I'm not too sure though how the simplified techniques will affect the final texture:

1-Flatten each ball of the dough into a very thin circle then with a pizza cutter, cut the dough into strips, then shape them into Rziza (I tried this method once - See slide below- and Rziza was too hard, crunchy and so crispier than my ideal. I will not recommend).

2-Simply, use a pasta maker then shape your Rziza (I've never tried this technique before!)

I’m submitting this post to Susan's Yeastspotting, a blog devoted to yeast bread food. Please check it out! 

Recipe, and Photos by Mamatkamal, K. El Mary

  

Ingredients:

-300 gr strong white flour / 300 gr de farine blanche.

-400 gr hard unbleached flour all puprose or fine semolina / 400 gr de farine de blé dur ou semoule très fine

-Some salt, to taste / Un peu de sel, au goût.

-3 tablespoons pure olive oil / 3 c à soupe d'huile d'olive de bonne qualité

-3  tablespoons soft unsalted butter / 3 c à soupe de beurre mou non-salé

-Pinch of yeast (don't put too much yeast.  For 700 gr of flour, I put less than 1 gr, about 0.5 gr or less) / Une petite pincée de levure boulangère (Ne pas mettre trop. Pour 700 gr de farine, j'ai mis moins qu'1 gr.  Environ 0.5 gr ou même moins).

N.B. : I used instant dry yeast, but you might use fresh or active dry yeast as well.  For all my baking, personally, I prefer using a little block of fresh yeast instead of dry one, but it is hard to find it where I live.  If you go here to a store or a shop and ask for fresh yeast, they will look at you like you were from another planet and 'how dare you ask for fresh yeast!'.  Having given no choice, I just go for instant or active dry yeast and the vendors usually tell you how to use this "thing" on the package.  I often use instant yeast where the package says it doesn't need to be dissolved in water, you simply mix it in with the dry ingredients and knead your dough.  However, if you use other types of yeast, make sure to read the package, you may have to dilute the yeast with some warm water and sometimes sugar as well until it puffs up before using it. / J'ai mis la levure instantanée mais vous pouvez aussi utiliser d'autres types de levure soit fraîche ou sèche active. Personnellement, je préfère utiliser la levrure fraîche, mais il m'est parfois difficile de trouver ce petit trésor de levure fraîche ici, alors je dois me contenter d'utiliser la version sèche.  Que ça soit levure sèche instantanée ou active que vous avez choisi, il faut tout simplement suivre les directives du fabricant.  J'utilise souvent la levure sèche instantanée et d'après les fabricants, ce type de levure ne doit pas être diluée, et elle doit se mélanger directement à la farine, sel, etc..... Par contre, si vous utilisez la levure fraîche ou la levure sèche active, assurez-vous qu'elle soit émiettée dans un peu d'eau tiède (et une pincée de sucre qui aide la levure à bien lever) avant d'être utilisée, et lorsqu'elle est diluée, il est recommandé de la couvrir et la laisser reposer quelques minutes avant de l'incorporer à la farine.

-Some warm water  to combine the dough which should be smooth and elastic, but not too sticky / Assez de l'eau tiède pour former une pâte lisse et elastique mais pas trop collante.



To shape Rziza / Pour façonner Rziza:

-You will need about 300 gr to 400 gr of unsalted butter, melted to shape Rziza (Don't use margarine or oil instead) / Vous aurez besoin de 300 gr à 400 gr de beurre non-salé fondu pour le façonnage de Rziza (Surtout ne remplacer pas le beurre par la margarine ou de l'huile).



Method / Préparation:

1-I used a mixer with a bread hook to make Rziza as well as my hands to knead the dough.  Put the flour, yeast, salt, butter and oil in a mixer and knead,  adding gradually water.  Knead for abouut 5 minutes with the machine.  Mix well to a soft dough. Turn it out onto a surface or Kassriya and knead for another 20 minutes or untill smooth without adding any additional water.  /J'ai utilisé le robot culinaire pour pétrir Rziza, j'ai mis le crochet pétrisseur. Puis j'ai pétri la pâte aussi à la main.  Mélanger farine, levure, sel, beurre, et l'huile et laisser pétrir pour 5 minutes, en ajoutant graduellement de l'eau pour former une pâte lisse.  Placer la pâte sur un plan de travail ou dans une Kassriya et pétrir avec les mains pendant environ 20 minutes ou jusqu'à que la pâte soit souple (A ce stade, il faut pétrir sans ajouter de l'eau à la pâte).

N.B.  Kneading the dough for a LONG time is quite important because it will help to develop the thing they call "Gluten", and it seems that this thing which makes the dough elastic. If you don't like kneading, you may use any bread machine or a bowl of a stand mixer or food processor etc.... and it is practically impossible to over-knead the dough destined to be shaped into Rziza.  So don't be scared to knead the dough as long as possible.   Once you become familiar with these crepes, it becomes naturally a matter of feel, however I would say 20 to 30 minutes of strong kneading is usually the target to make this dough./ Il est important de BIEN pétrir la pâte, au moins 20 à 30 minutes.  Le pétrissage constitue une étape importante dans cette recette de Rziza, n'hésiter pas à continuer de pétrir la pâte le plus longtemps possible pour développer l'élasticité qui vous sera très utile durant le façonnage!

2-Divide the dough into equal balls a little bigger than an egg. / Diviser la pâte en petites boules égales, un peu plus que la grosseur d'un oeuf.

3-Roll each ball in your hands to form small sausages.  Don't forget to use melted butter while rolling / Etirer chaque boule en un long boudin. Il faut beurrer les mains en les étirant.

4- Dip each sausage into melted butter, and stretch and stretch, rotate the dough. Continue stretching and rotating until the dough is thin and looks at first like a long rope then like noodles. /Tremper  chaque boudin dans le beurre, puis étirer la pâte jusqu'à que vous obtiendrez des ficelles très fines qui ressemblent au début à  une longue corde puis en continuant à étirer vous obtiendrez des nouilles.

5-Wrap Rziza around a rolling pin or four fingers, brush Rziza generously with melted butter, overlap then join the ends / Enrouler Rziza sur 4 doigts ou sur un rouleau à pâtisserie en la beurrant généreusement.

6-Turn Rziza inside out./ Glisser Rzizza du rouleau à pâtisserie.

7-Repeat with the remaining ropes. Rub melted butter onto the top of Rziza to prevent drying. / Procédez de la même façon pour les autres cordes jusqu'à épuisement de la pâte. Badigeonner Rziza avec du beurre fondu pour qu'elle ne se dessèche pas.

8-Using your hands, flatten Rziza  into a round / Aplatir Rziza avec la paume de la main pour former un cercle.

9-Preheat Wajda pan or a non-stick pan over medium heat. Put a little bit of  oil on the pan (not more than 2 or 3 drops, we don't want to fry it). Wait until the pan is very hot, then start to cook Rziza.  When you put Rziza on the hot pan, wait for about 1 minute then turn it over, don't wait until it is cooked on one side to turn it. / Mettre une poêle d'Oujda (ou tout simplement une poêle de bonne qualité, assez lourde) à chauffer et attendre jusqu'à qu'elle soit très chaude.   Badigeonner la poêle avec un peu de l'huile (pas plus que 2 ou 3 gouttes).  Déposer Rziza sur la poêle . Laisser cuire environ 1 minute, puis tourner-la.  Il ne faut pas attendre que Rziza soit complètement cuite sur un côté pour la tourner.

10-Keep turning it several times, until it is cooked and golden / Tourner-la fréquemment jusqu'à qu'elle soit cuite et bien dorée.

11-Enjoy. Serve with honey or maple syrup or chocolate spread etc.../ Bssa7a w ra7a.  Servir avec du miel, sirop d'érable, tartinade  au chocolat etc...

See images below or slide, this is an easy way to make Rziza but I will not recommend this method since Rziza does not have that nice soft texture the same as Rziza made in the traditional way. 

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Recipe, Article and Photos by Mamatkamal 

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