Makhlama

Ingredients

The base

• 400 gminced lamb
• or minced beef
• 2onions, chopped
• 4tomatoes, chopped
• 3garlic cloves, crushed
• 3 tablespoonsoil or ghee
• 1 teaspoonbaharat
• 1/2 teaspoonground turmeric
• 1 teaspoonsalt
• black pepper

The eggs

• 6eggs
• a pinch of salt

Sometimes added

• 1green pepper, chopped
• 1chilli, chopped
• 2 tablespoonstomato purée
• chopped parsley

To serve

• samoon bread
• or any flatbread
• pickles
• straight from the pan

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a wide flat pan. Add the chopped onions to the pan. Cook them for a good eight minutes. Let them soften and turn golden. Add the minced lamb to the pan.
2. Break it up with a wooden spoon. Fry it until it is well browned. Let it colour properly before moving on. Add the crushed garlic to the pan.
3. Add the baharat and the turmeric. Cook them for one full minute. Add the chopped tomatoes to the pan. Add the tomato purée if using it. Season it with salt and black pepper. Let them cook for about ten minutes.
4. Stir it now and then as it goes. The tomato must cook right down. Oil should separate at the edges. There should be no free liquid at all. Spread the mixture evenly across the pan. Make small hollows for the eggs. Make one hollow for each of the eggs.
5. Break each egg into its own hollow. Break each egg into a cup first. Season the eggs with a little salt. Cover the pan over with a lid. Cooking them takes a few minutes.
6. Check them from four minutes onwards. Judging the eggs takes a look. Take it off while they still wobble. They firm up in the residual heat. Cook them a few minutes longer for that. Scatter chopped parsley over the pan. Grind black pepper over the eggs. Serving it is done immediately and hot.
7. Take the pan straight to the table. Set it down on a board or a cloth. Serve samoon or flatbread alongside. Put pickles on the table with it. It does not keep or reheat well. Make it and eat it straight away.

Technique

• The eggs are broken over the finished base and nothing is stirred afterwards: they stay as distinct whites and yolks rather than being scrambled through, which is what distinguishes makhlama from a scramble. Make a hollow for each one, or the whites run together.
• The tomato must cook right down until the oil separates and there is no free liquid at all, since wet tomato makes the eggs watery — the commonest fault with the dish.
• Cover the pan once the eggs go in: the trapped steam cooks the tops of the whites, and without a lid they stay raw on top while the base burns waiting for them. Take it off while the yolks still wobble, since they firm up in the residual heat.

Substitutions

• Minced beef stands in for lamb and is used just as often.
• Some versions use no meat at all, closer to a plain tomato and egg dish.

Variations

• Green pepper or chilli go into the base in some versions.
• It is eaten at breakfast and late at night alike.
• Anyone pregnant or vulnerable should have the yolks cooked through.

History

Cooked in a flat pan and eaten straight from it with samoon bread, common in Mosul and Baghdad.

Frequently asked questions

What is Makhlama?

Makhlama is a breakfast from Iraq: eggs broken over minced lamb, tomato and onion in a hot pan. Cooked in a flat pan and eaten straight from it with samoon bread, common in Mosul and Baghdad.

How long does Makhlama take to make?

Makhlama takes 15 minutes of preparation and 25 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 4. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Makhlama?

Yes, within limits. Minced beef stands in for lamb and is used just as often. Some versions use no meat at all, closer to a plain tomato and egg dish.

What is the most important thing to get right in Makhlama?

Stir it now and then as it goes. The tomato must cook right down. Oil should separate at the edges. There should be no free liquid at all. Spread the mixture evenly across the pan. Make small hollows for the eggs. Make one hollow for each of the eggs.