Execution:

1. baharat, “spice.”

• Toast all of the whole spices.

• Put into a spice grinder and grind until a fine powder.

• Sift through a sieve and store in a container for 3 months.

2. cook.

• Place a pan over medium-high heat, add ghee, once smoking add the meat and break apart the meat to prevent chunks of ground meat.

• Cook the meat, stirring often 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, their should me a mild, savoury garlic flavour, the spices should be cooked out, meaning they have lost their pungency and have blended into one flavour profile, that being “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.