makh
lama.
مخلمة
Iraqi, soft eggs on stewed tomato and ground meat.
Ingredients:
1lb ground meat, (beef or lamb, 70/30).
1 red onion, chopped fine.
4 eggs.
2 roma tomato, chopped fine.
6 garlic chives, chopped fine.
2 cloves garlic, minced.
1 tbsp tomato paste.
1 tbsp baharat.
1 tsp ground turmeric.
1 tsp sumac.
1-2 tsp aleppo pepper.
1/2 tsp ground allspice.
3 tbsp ghee.
1 cup stock or water.
pinch za’atar.
chopped parsley.
lemon juice.
kosher salt.
olive oil to finish.
spice mix, baharat:
3” cinnamon stick.
1 tbsp coriander seed.
1/2 tbsp cumin seeds.
1/2 tbsp black peppercorns.
10 cloves.
2 black cardamom.
6 green cardamom.
1/4 whole nutmeg.
1 star anise.
1 tbsp allspice berries.
2 tbsp paprika.
Equipment:
pan.
spice grinder.
Yield:
~1/4 cup baharat.
3-4 servings
Execution:
baharat, “spice.”
Toast all of the whole spices.
Grind to a fine powder.
2. cook.
Place a pan over medium-high heat, add ghee, once smoking, add the ground meat and cook until browned.
Remove the meat from the pan and set aside.
Reduce the heat to medium and add onions, cook until lightly browned and translucent.
Add garlic and half of the garlic chives, cook until fragrant.
Reduce the heat to low, add the baharat, turmeric, allspice, aleppo and tomato paste, toast for 30 seconds or until deeply aromatic.
Add the tomatoes, water and a generous pinch of salt.
Add the meat back to the pan and increase the heat to medium.
Cook the makhlama until the tomatoes have fully broken down and the meat is swimming in a thick aromatic ‘soup’.
Taste, check the meat for seasoning, add salt and lemon as necessary, check for the doneness of the tomatoes they should be sweet and have lost their acidity, there should be a mild, savoury garlic flavour, the spices should be cooked out, meaning they have lost their pungency and have blended into one flavour profile; spicy and smells good.
Reduce the heat to low, create divots in the meat, crack eggs into the divot, cover with a lid and cook for 5 minutes or until the yolks are runny and the whites are set.
Cut the heat, remove the lid and top with parsley, sumac, za’atar, lemon juice, the rest of the garlic chives and a drizzle of olive oil.