Mugalgal

Ingredients

The meat

• 700 glamb liver
• or lamb, in thin strips
• or a mixture of liver, kidney and heart
• trimmed and sliced thin

The pan

• 2onions, sliced
• 2green peppers, in strips
• 3tomatoes, chopped
• 4garlic cloves, crushed
• 4 tablespoonsghee or oil
• 1 tablespoonground black pepper
• 1 teaspoonground coriander
• 1 teaspoonground cumin
• 1 teaspoonbaharat
• salt

Sometimes added

• 1hot green chilli, chopped
• juice of 1 lemon
• a handful of parsley, chopped

To serve

• khubz or flatbread
• straight from the pan
• shared at the table

Directions

1. Cook liver right through rather than pink. There should be no red juices left. Slice the liver genuinely thin. Thin slices cook in a minute or two. Discard any that smells at all off. Those must be cut out entirely. Take real time over the trimming. That gives a large hot surface. Cook in batches if the pan is small.
2. Rinse the liver under cold water. Pat it all thoroughly dry first. Cut away all the outer membrane. Cut out all the tubes and tough parts. Remove all of them out properly. Slice the liver into thin strips. Aim for about half a centimetre.
3. Cut them thinner than feels right. Cold liver slices far more cleanly. Put it in the freezer for twenty minutes. It firms up enough to cut thinly. Slice all of the onions thinly. Cut the green peppers into strips. Chop all of the ripe tomatoes. Everything cooks in a few minutes.
4. Cut it all fairly thin for that. Thick pieces stay raw in the pan. Heat the ghee in a wide shallow pan. Get it properly hot before you start. Wait until the fat starts to shimmer.
5. Add the liver in a single layer. Work in batches if the pan is small. Cook it in two or three batches. Let it sit for thirty seconds untouched. Then toss it about constantly. Lift the liver out onto a plate. Add the sliced onions to the pan.
6. Fry them hard for about four minutes. They should colour rather than soften slowly. Keep the heat high throughout. Add all the green pepper strips. Fry them for about three minutes. They should keep some bite to them.
7. Add the crushed garlic to the pan. Add the chilli if you want heat. Fry them for one more full minute. Add the black pepper generously. Add the coriander, cumin and baharat. Fry them for thirty seconds only. Do not reduce the pepper at all. Add the chopped tomatoes to the pan. Fry them for about three minutes. The tomato should soften but not dissolve.
8. Add the liver back to the pan. Toss it through everything else. Season it with salt at this point. Give it just one more minute only. Take the pan right off immediately. Judging it takes a look and a taste.
9. Salt goes in at the very end only. Salt added early draws water from the liver. Add it in right at the very end. Squeeze a little lemon over it. Scatter chopped parsley over the top. Serving it is done straight from the pan. Bring the whole pan to the table. Serve warm flatbread alongside. It must be eaten hot from the pan.

Technique

• Liver can carry bacteria such as campylobacter, a documented risk with lamb liver, so cook it right through with no red juices left rather than leaving it pink. Overcooked liver goes hard and grainy, which is why some cooks stop short — thin slices of about half a centimetre solve both problems, cooking through in a minute or two without toughening.
• The dish comes from slaughter day, when offal had to be eaten the same day: liver and kidney are rich in enzymes and break down within hours rather than days without refrigeration, so they were cooked fast over high heat and eaten straight from the pan.
• Cook the liver in batches and remove it before the vegetables go in, returning it only for the last minute to warm through — a crowded pan drops in temperature and the liver steams grey and tough, and any longer than a minute at the end toughens it. Salt goes in at the very end, since salt added early draws water out and makes it steam.

Substitutions

• Thin strips of lamb stand in for liver, or a mixture of liver, kidney and heart is used.
• Put the liver in the freezer for twenty minutes before slicing, which firms it enough to cut thinly.

Variations

• A tablespoon of black pepper is not a mistake — pepper is the defining spice and the dish is meant to taste strongly of it.
• Trim out the outer membrane and all the tubes, which stay rubbery however you cook them and make the slices curl.
• It is brought to the table in the pan and scooped up with torn flatbread.

History

Najdi fry-up traditionally made on the day of slaughter, when the offal must be eaten fresh.

Frequently asked questions

What is Mugalgal?

Mugalgal is a main from Saudi Arabia: lamb or liver flash-fried with pepper and onion in a shallow pan. Najdi fry-up traditionally made on the day of slaughter, when the offal must be eaten fresh.

How long does Mugalgal take to make?

Mugalgal takes 20 minutes of preparation and 20 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 4. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Mugalgal?

Yes, within limits. Thin strips of lamb stand in for liver, or a mixture of liver, kidney and heart is used. Put the liver in the freezer for twenty minutes before slicing, which firms it enough to cut thinly.

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

Cook liver right through rather than pink. There should be no red juices left. Slice the liver genuinely thin. Thin slices cook in a minute or two. Discard any that smells at all off. Those must be cut out entirely. Take real time over the trimming. That gives a large hot surface. Cook in batches if the pan is small.