Bazin
Libya's de facto national dish, rooted in Berber/Amazigh and North African Bedouin cooking and documented since at least the 14th century. It's reserved for Friday lunches, weddings, Eid, and family reunions rather than everyday meals. Tunisia has its own related bazina, part of the same barley-growing Maghreb food family, but the two are genuinely distinct dishes, not the same recipe under two names. The real, physically demanding technique is beating the boiled barley dough vigorously with a sturdy wooden stick directly in the pot until it turns smooth and elastic enough to shape into a firm dome by hand — rushing this step is the main way home versions fall short.
⚠ Contains: Gluten, Egg. Always check your own ingredients — this isn't a guarantee for severe allergies.
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups barley flour
- 3/4 cup wheat flour (or all barley flour)
- Water, salt
- 450g lamb or mutton, cubed
- 1 onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp sweet paprika
- Black pepper, fenugreek (helba)
- 4 potatoes, peeled
- 4 eggs, hard-boiled
- Olive oil, lemon wedges, and fresh or pickled chilies, to serve
Steps
- Brown the lamb with onion, garlic, and spices, then add the tomato paste and water and simmer 45-60 minutes until tender.
- Add the potatoes to the stew and cook until soft.
- Separately, boil the barley flour (and wheat flour if using) in salted water, stirring constantly.
- Beat the thickening dough vigorously with a sturdy wooden stick directly in the pot for 15-20 minutes, until smooth, elastic, and fully cooked through.
- Turn the dough onto a large serving plate and shape by hand into a firm dome.
- Ladle the tomato-meat sauce around the dome, and arrange the potatoes and halved boiled eggs around it.
- Drizzle with olive oil and serve with lemon wedges and chilies, eaten by hand, pinching dough from the dome to dip into the sauce.