Chef Zohra
Poulet M'hammer aux Amandes (دجاج محمر)
A celebration chicken simmered low in saffron onion sauce, browned until golden, then carried to the table with fried almonds scattered over the top.
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Tagine de Kefta Mkaouara (طاجين كفتة مكورة)
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Small kefta meatballs simmered in a garlicky tomato sauce until the oil rises and the sauce turns glossy, an everyday Moroccan tagine built for bread, hands, and one more place at the table.
Main Dishes
Moroccan
Weeknight
Comfort Food
One Pot
25 min
Active Time
40 min cook•1 hr 5 min total
Yield4 servings
The meatballs must be small. That is the gesture that decides the dish. Roll the kefta no bigger than a walnut, and each one cooks gently in the tomato sauce, taking in cumin, paprika, garlic, and the good fat from the meat. Make them too large and the center stays dull while the sauce over-reduces around them.
This is weeknight tagine, not ceremony. You set the tomatoes to cook down until their sharpness softens and the oil begins to shine at the edges, then you tuck the kefta into that red sauce and let the pot finish itself. Some houses crack eggs over the top at the end. This version is the everyday eggless one, all tomato and meat, made to be scooped with round khobz.
Use ripe tomatoes when the market gives them to you, heavy and smelling of sun. In winter, use good canned tomatoes without shame. No gesture rescues a tired tomato. Cook what the market actually handed you, then bring the tagine to the center of the table. Une table, c'est une porte qu'on laisse ouverte, a table is a door you leave open.
Kefta tagines belong to the urban and market cooking of Morocco, especially in the 19th and 20th century cities where minced meat, tomato, cumin, and paprika became everyday companions in small charcoal braziers and home tagines. Tomatoes entered Moroccan kitchens after the Columbian exchange and became common later through Mediterranean trade, while cumin and paprika speak to older spice routes and Andalusi influence. The egg-topped version is famous in many homes and cafes, but the eggless pot is just as much part of the living repertoire.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
ground beef or lamb
Quantity
500g
ideally 15 to 20 percent fat
onion
Quantity
1 small
grated and squeezed lightly
fresh parsley
Quantity
3 tbsp
finely chopped
fresh coriander
Quantity
3 tbsp
finely chopped
ground cumin
Quantity
2 tsp
divided
sweet paprika
Quantity
2 tsp
divided
ground ginger
Quantity
1/2 tsp
ground cinnamon
Quantity
1/4 tsp
cayenne pepper (optional)
Quantity
1/4 tsp
fine sea salt
Quantity
1 1/2 tsp
divided
black pepper
Quantity
1/2 tsp
olive oil
Quantity
3 tbsp
garlic cloves
Quantity
4
finely grated or minced
ripe tomatoes or good canned crushed tomatoes
Quantity
800g
fresh tomatoes grated if using
tomato paste
Quantity
1 tbsp
water
Quantity
120ml
only as needed
fresh coriander or parsley
Quantity
1 small handful
chopped, for finishing
round khobz
Quantity
for serving
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| ground beef or lambideally 15 to 20 percent fat | 500g |
| oniongrated and squeezed lightly | 1 small |
| fresh parsleyfinely chopped | 3 tbsp |
| fresh corianderfinely chopped | 3 tbsp |
| ground cumindivided | 2 tsp |
| sweet paprikadivided | 2 tsp |
| ground ginger | 1/2 tsp |
| ground cinnamon | 1/4 tsp |
| cayenne pepper (optional) | 1/4 tsp |
| fine sea saltdivided | 1 1/2 tsp |
| black pepper | 1/2 tsp |
| olive oil | 3 tbsp |
| garlic clovesfinely grated or minced | 4 |
| ripe tomatoes or good canned crushed tomatoesfresh tomatoes grated if using | 800g |
| tomato paste | 1 tbsp |
| wateronly as needed | 120ml |
| fresh coriander or parsleychopped, for finishing | 1 small handful |
| round khobz | for serving |
Equipment Needed
- •30cm clay tagine or wide heavy skillet with lid
- •box grater for fresh tomatoes and onion
- •wide bowl for mixing kefta
Instructions
- 1
Season the kefta
Put the meat in a bowl with the grated onion, parsley, coriander, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon paprika, ginger, cinnamon, cayenne if using, 1 teaspoon salt, and the black pepper. Mix with your hands until the herbs and spices are evenly worked through, but don't knead it into paste. The kefta should feel tender and a little loose, not tight like sausage.
Fat matters here. Meat that is too lean turns dry before the tomato sauce has time to gloss. - 2
Roll small balls
Wet your palms lightly and roll the kefta into small balls, about walnut size. Keep them even so they cook at the same pace. Small is not decoration here: it lets the meat season the sauce while the sauce seasons the meat.
- 3
Start the sauce
Warm the olive oil in a tagine base or wide heavy pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and stir just until it smells alive, not brown. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, remaining 1 teaspoon cumin, remaining 1 teaspoon paprika, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Stir well and let the sauce bubble gently.
- 4
Cook it down
Simmer the tomato sauce uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring now and then, until it thickens and the raw sharp smell is gone. Drag a spoon through it: the path should close slowly. If it tightens too fast, add a splash of water. You're not making soup, you're making a sauce that can hold the kefta.
- 5
Simmer the kefta
Nestle the meatballs into the sauce in one layer, spooning a little tomato over the top. Cover and simmer gently for 12 to 15 minutes, shaking the pan once or twice instead of stirring hard. The kefta should stay round, tender, and just cooked through.
- 6
Gloss and serve
Uncover and let the sauce reduce for 5 minutes more, until the oil shines in little red pools at the edge and the sauce clings to the meatballs. Scatter with chopped coriander or parsley. Bring the whole tagine to the table with khobz and let everyone eat from their side.
Chef Tips
- •If tomatoes are in season, grate them on the large holes of a box grater and leave the skins behind in your hand. If they smell of nothing, use good canned tomatoes. The market always has an answer.
- •Cumin is the spine of this dish. Toast whole cumin and grind it if you can; la balance est dans les yeux, the scale is in the eyes, but stale spice has no eyes and no voice.
- •Don't crowd the meatballs in a narrow pot. A wide tagine or skillet lets the sauce reduce properly and keeps the kefta from breaking.
- •Some Moroccan homes add eggs at the end, cracked into little hollows and cooked until just set. That's another beloved table. For this eggless version, let the tomato sauce be the finish.
- •Serve with khobz, not rice. The bread is the spoon, and the sauce is made for it.
Advance Preparation
- •The kefta mixture can be seasoned and rolled up to 8 hours ahead, then covered and chilled.
- •The tomato sauce can be cooked a day ahead. Rewarm it gently, then add the kefta fresh so the meat stays tender.
- •Leftovers keep 2 days in the refrigerator and reheat best over low heat with a spoonful of water to loosen the sauce.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 390g)
Calories
565 calories
Total Fat
31 g
Saturated Fat
9 g
Trans Fat
1 g
Unsaturated Fat
19 g
Cholesterol
90 mg
Sodium
1160 mg
Total Carbohydrates
48 g
Dietary Fiber
6 g
Sugars
10 g
Protein
28 g
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