Mbattan

Ingredients

The potatoes

• 5large potatoes
• waxy or all-purpose
• peeled
• sliced into rounds 5 mm thick

The filling

• 400 gminced beef
• or lamb, with some fat
• 1onion, very finely chopped
• 3 clovesgarlic, crushed
• a large handful of parsley
• chopped finely
• 1 teaspoonground cumin
• 1 teaspoonsweet paprika
• half a teaspoon ground cinnamon
• half a teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoonbzaar
• the Libyan spice mix, optional
• 1 teaspoonsalt
• half a teaspoon black pepper
• a pinch of chilli, optional

The batter

• 150 gplain flour
• 2eggs
• half a teaspoon salt
• half a teaspoon turmeric
• for colour
• about 180 ml water
• half a teaspoon baking powder
• optional

For frying

• 1 litrevegetable oil
• or enough for 5 cm depth

To serve

• bread
• harissa or a chilli sauce
• lemon wedges
• a tomato and onion salad

Directions

1. Slice the potato thin. Keep the meat layer thin. Fry at a moderate temperature. Two or three minutes in salted water. Use waxy or all-purpose potatoes. Slice them into rounds about five millimetres thick. Lay them out in pairs. Put the sliced potato in cold water. That stops it browning while you work. Put the mince in a bowl. Add the very finely chopped onion.
2. Chop it very finely or grate it and squeeze it. Coarse onion stops the filling holding together. Add the garlic, parsley and spices. Add the salt and pepper. Work it with your hands for two minutes.
3. Use mince with some fat in it. Extra lean mince goes dry and crumbly. Use a great deal of it. Lay out the potato slices in pairs. Take a small amount of the meat mixture. Flatten it into a thin disc. Keep it thin, about half a centimetre. Thick filling stays raw inside.
4. Set the meat on one slice. Leave a clear border around the edge. Press the second slice on top. Press the edges together firmly. So press firmly but do not expect a seal.
5. Chill the assembled sandwiches for thirty minutes. Whisk the flour, salt and turmeric together. Whisk in the eggs. Whisk in water gradually. It should coat a spoon thickly. Rest the batter fifteen minutes. Whisk it again before using. Use a deep heavy pot.
6. Fill it no more than one third full. Never leave hot oil unattended. Keep a well fitting lid within reach. If it catches fire, turn off the heat and cover it. Heat the oil to one hundred and sixty-five degrees. Raw potato and raw meat both need time.
7. Dip each sandwich in the batter. Hold it flat with two fingers. Let the excess drip off. Let it go once the batter starts to set. Fry them for eight to ten minutes. Turn them once, halfway. They should be deep golden all over. Fry three or four at a time only. Do not crowd the pot. Cut the first one open before frying the rest. The potato should be tender right through.
8. Mince carries surface bacteria into the interior. Lift them out with a slotted spoon. Drain them on a rack over kitchen paper. A rack keeps them crisper. Let the oil recover between batches. Serve them hot, within minutes. Serve bread alongside.
9. Serve harissa or a chilli sauce. Serve lemon wedges. Serve a sharp tomato and onion salad. They keep two days refrigerated. Freeze them on a tray before bagging. Give them an extra four minutes.

Technique

• Fry at 165 degrees, lower than for most fried food. Raw potato and raw meat both need time, and hotter oil browns the batter long before either cooks. Lower and longer is the rule.
• Cut the first one open and check before frying the rest. The potato should be tender right through, the meat cooked with no pink, the batter crisp. If the potato is hard but the batter dark, lower the heat and fry the rest longer.
• Slice the potato to five millimetres, evenly, and pair the slices by size as you cut. Thicker slices stay raw, thinner ones tear, and mismatched pairs leave filling exposed.
• Keep the meat layer thin, about half a centimetre, with a clear border. Thick filling stays raw and pushes the slices apart.
• Dry the potato slices thoroughly. Wet potato makes the batter slide off and spits in the oil.
• Chill the assembled sandwiches thirty minutes before battering. They hold together far better.
• Support each one as it enters the oil and let go once the batter sets. Dropped in, they tend to separate — the potato does not seal like pastry and the batter is what holds it together.
• Par-boiling the potato slices for two or three minutes guarantees cooked potato, at the cost of making them more fragile to handle. Dry them very thoroughly if you do.
• Use waxy or all-purpose potatoes. Floury ones break when handled and disintegrate in the oil.
• Chop the onion very finely, or grate and squeeze it. Coarse onion stops the filling binding and releases water into it.
• Use mince with fifteen to twenty percent fat and work it for two minutes until tacky. Extra lean mince is dry, crumbly and will not bind.
• Minced meat must be cooked right through — no pink at all. Mince carries surface bacteria into the interior, unlike a whole cut.
• Deep-frying rules apply: fill the pot no more than a third, never leave it unattended, keep a lid within reach, and if the oil catches fire turn off the heat and smother it. Never throw water on burning oil.

Substitutions

• Lamb replaces beef and is equally common.
• Bzaar, the Libyan spice mix, replaces the individual spices where you can get it.
• Aubergine or courgette slices replace potato for a different version.
• A vegetarian filling of spiced mashed chickpeas works in the same construction.
• Any chilli sauce replaces harissa.
• Par-boiling the potato slices guarantees they cook through.

Variations

• Aubergine mbattan uses slices of aubergine instead of potato.
• Bazin, the barley dough with stew, is Libya’s national dish and a quite different thing.
• Sfinz, the fried bread with egg, is the other Libyan street standard.
• Shakshuka is eaten across Libya as it is across North Africa.
• Maakouda in Morocco is the plain fried potato patty without a filling.
• Potato chops in South Asia use a similar stuffed and fried construction.

Frequently asked questions

What is Mbattan?

Mbattan is a street food from Libya: potato slices sandwiching spiced minced meat, battered and fried.

How long does Mbattan take to make?

Mbattan takes 40 minutes of preparation and 30 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes makes about 12. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Mbattan?

Yes, within limits. Lamb replaces beef and is equally common. Bzaar, the Libyan spice mix, replaces the individual spices where you can get it. Aubergine or courgette slices replace potato for a different version. A vegetarian filling of spiced mashed chickpeas works in the same construction. Any chilli sauce replaces harissa. Par-boiling the potato slices guarantees they cook through.

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

Set the meat on one slice. Leave a clear border around the edge. Press the second slice on top. Press the edges together firmly. So press firmly but do not expect a seal.