Tuesday 27 April 2010

Shakshouka

The Walima cooking club was clebrating Tunisian cuisine in the month of March..As I had returned from my visit to India at the end of that month, I couldn't participate and post that month, but I was really eager to try the savory dish given that month and here I am with that challenge...its better late than never. Right?Now before we go to the recipe, below is a quick intro to Tunisian cuisine:

The cuisine of Tunisia, is a blend of Mediterranean and desert dweller's culinary traditions. Its distinctive spicy fieriness comes from neighboring Mediterranean countries and the many civilizations who have ruled Tunisian land: Phoenician, Roman, Arab, Turkish, French, and the native Berber people. Many of the cooking styles and utensils began to take shape when the ancient tribes were nomads. Nomadic people were limited in their cooking by what locally made pots and pans they could carry with them. A tagine is really the name of a conical-lidded pot, although today the same word is applied to what is cooked in it.Like all countries in the Mediterranean basin, Tunisia offers a "sun cuisine," based mainly on olive oil, spices, tomatoes, seafood (a wide range of fish) and meat from rearing (lamb).Unlike other North African cuisine, Tunisian food is quite spicy. A popular condiment and ingredient which is used extensively Tunisian cooking, Harissa is a hot red pepper sauce made of red chili peppers and garlic, flavored with coriander, cumin, olive oil and often tomatoes. There is an old wives' tale that says a husband can judge his wife's affections by the amount of hot peppers she uses when preparing his food. If the food becomes bland then a man may believe that his wife no longer loves him. However when the food is prepared for guests the hot peppers are often toned down to suit the possibly more delicate palate of the visitor. Like Harissa or chili peppers, the tomato is also an ingredient which cannot be separated from the cuisine of Tunisia. Tuna, eggs, olives and various varieties of pasta, cereals, herbs and spices are also ingredients which are featured prominently in Tunisian cooking.

SHAKSHOUKA

This dish, with many variations, is a popular breakfast in North Africa, especially in Algeria and Tunisia. Most recipes include the eggs, but they can actually be left out if you like. Jewish immigrants from the Maghreb have made this a popular breakfast dish in Israel.


Ingredients:

3 tablespoons olive oil,

1-2 tbsp of Paprika,

1 thinly sliced Onion,

2 to 3 cloves minced Garlic,

3 Tomatoes- peeled, seeded and diced,

2 to 3 Green and red bell peppers,

1 cup of Water,

4 Eggs (optional),

Salt and pepper to taste


Method:

Heat the oil in a deep skillet over medium flame. Stir in the paprika and cook slightly to color the oil, about 10 to 15 seconds. Add the onions and garlic and saute until the onions are translucent and wilted but not browned, about 5 minutes.

Add the tomatoes and cook for 3 to 4 minutes to reduce down a little bit. Add the peppers, water and salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for about 10 minutes. Add more water as needed to keep it from drying out.

Using a spoon, form four small indentations in the simmering peppers to hold the eggs. One by one, crack the eggs into a small bowl and slip each from the bowl into an indentation. Cover and simmer for another 10 minutes or so until eggs are cooked through.

Serve with crusty bread, pita or rice.

Variations:

Add 1 teaspoon of cumin seed to the hot oil for about 15 seconds before you add the paprika. Add 2 to 3 teaspoons of ground coriander along with the onions.

For a little spice, sauté 1 tablespoon of Harissa paste or a minced Chile pepper with the onions.

Sometimes fresh shrimp or a spicy lamb sausage called merguez is added to the simmering peppers along with the eggs.

Add 1 small, diced eggplant along with the peppers.

Add 1 potato, cut in a small dice, along with the peppers.

Sprinkle the top of the cooked dish with chopped parsley or cilantro.

Add a few olives and capers and eliminate the eggs. Chill and serve garnished with hard-boiled eggs or tuna.

Tips:
Instead of adding the eggs to the pan, one can divide the tomato pepper sauce into 4 ramekins and top them with 1 egg each and bake in a preheated oven at 190 C until the eggs are cooked.

35 comments:

Deepti said...

Thats a gr8 recipe...came out very well n luks very tempting.

Suji said...

Faiza...Excellent dish ...Very inviting and looks too good..will def give a try...Awesome pictures....

Love
KS

Unknown said...

very interesting post...loved to know about the tunisia cuisine..thanks for sharing this informative post..the dish looks very tempting too...

Faiza Ali said...

Thanks Deepthi and Ks for you quick and generous comments :)

Sailaja Damodaran said...

Super with roti.......

Ann said...

Looks Delicious-o!

Swathi said...

Faiza,

Nice to know about new cuisine. I love to explore the world cuisine. thanks for info.

Indian Khana said...

Very interesting and easy recipe...nice one

Life is beautiful !!! said...

'There is an old wives' tale that says a husband can judge his wife's affections by the amount of hot peppers she uses when preparing his food'- hahaha this is very interesting !!! The dish looks wonderful and delicious :)

Vikis Kitchen said...

Very very nice egg recipe. wanna have it for breakfast! Nice pictures and beautiful ramekins too:)

Preethi Rajeev said...

this looks delicious and filling, goes well with some warm bread

My Kitchen Antics said...

the one in the ramekin looks so cute and wow that was some interesting info on Tunisia

Meena said...

a lovely savory recipe...looks very beautiful.

Rumana Rawat said...

Wow.. this is lovely dish:-)

Hamaree Rasoi said...

Very tempting and delicious dish. It's breakfast time here and this click is making me hungry!!!
Deepa
Hamaree Rasoi

Sushma Mallya said...

Very interesting , and so beautiful too...

Soma Pradhan said...

a very nice and unique recipe..thx for sharing with all

Lebouffe said...

Wow.. looks yum..Nice to have to back blogging away!

Priya Suresh said...

Thats a delicious and tempting dish, looks awesome Faiza..

priya said...

new to me..looks so inviting and delicious

Valarmathi Sanjeev said...

Awesome!..looks delicious.

Gita Jaishankar said...

Very interesting dish dear...looks so yum and tempting :)

Urmi said...

Very nice and interesting dish. Looks spicy, colourful and mouth watering.

Saraswathy Balakrishnan said...

drooling recipe dear

Raks said...

Very new to me,looks awesome!

Faiza Ali said...

thank you all for you lovely comments..really..they boost my energy :)

Mrs.Ahmed said...

Asalamwalikam Faiza,

lovely blog,i love shakshouka soo much my mom she used to make for me in breakfast,i just miss her...


http://hyderabadicuisinerecipes-angel.blogspot.com/

Subhie Arun said...

looks v inviting..its new to me...v yummy n nice click too!

Subhie Arun said...

looks v inviting..its new to me...v yummy n nice click too!

Subhie Arun said...

looks v inviting..its new to me...v yummy n nice click too!

Subhie Arun said...

looks v inviting..its new to me...v yummy n nice click too!

Subhie Arun said...

looks v inviting..its new to me...v yummy n nice click too!

Arlette said...

Hello Faiza, welcome back, how was your vacation...

Your Shakshoukah look very delicious .
thanks for participating

Shobha said...

Looks yummy...
I make my egg curry in a similar way too..with onions,tomatoes and spices.
There are some nice Arabic dishes in your blog which I will definitely try out.

Ushnish Ghosh said...

Dear Faiza
Just landed here after reading Kanchan's blog. I am going to try this of course the variation one..
Was wondering how did I miss this one..now realize I was busy packing up from Milan in end April.
Have a nice weekend.

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