Beef brisket, short ribs, or chuck roast, cut into 4 pieces
12
md
Potatoes (4 to 5 pounds), peeled, or 1/2 cup bulgar (up to 16)
5
Pitted dates or 3 tablespoons honey (up to 6)
1
tb
Paprika
1
ts
Ground cinnamon
1/4
ts
Ground tumeric or 6 saffron threads, crumbled
2
ts
Salt, about
Ground black pepper to taste
1
Recipe kouclas (dumplings) see below
6
lg
Eggs, in shell (up to 8)
INSTRUCTIONS
The World Of Jewish Cooking, Gil Marks
When the Sepahrdim arrived in northwest Africa following the expulsion,
they merged their dishes with the native cuisine, exemplified by North
African Sabbath step known by various names in different parts of the
country: dafina/adafina (Arabic for "covered"), skhina (from an arabic word
meaning "hot") and frackh (Arabic for "happiness"). These stews reflect
popular local seasoning combinations .... cumin, cinnamon, paprika, and
saffron ... while dates or honey impart an interesting depth of flavor.
Some versions add sweet potatoes, others a spoonful of minced red chili.
Algerian dafina is usually accompanied with a bobinet (steamed beef
sausage) or megina (steamed beef and egg hash), while Moroccan stews
usually contain a calf's foot, a whole tongue, or a kouclas (a dumpling
similar to rudimentary Ashkenazic kugels). In the Sepahrdic tradition, all
of these stews contain huevos haminados (brown eggs). The following is a
basic Moroccan dafina. This is different from the previous recipe.
1. Soak the chickpeas in water overnight. Drain
2. Heat the oil in a 6- to 8-quart pot over medium heat. Add the onions and
saute until soft and translucent, 5 to 10 minutes.
3. Add, without mixing, the chickpeas, garlic, bones, meat, potatoes or
bulgur, dates or honey, paprika, cumin, cinnamon, tumeric or saffron, salt,
and pepper. Place the kouclas* (see below) in the center of the dafina, and
arrange the eggs around it. Add enough water to cover.
4. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer,
occasionally skimming the foam, for 1 hour.
5. Tightly cover the pot, place on a blech (a thin sheet of metal placed
over the stove top) over low heat or in a 225-degree oven, and cook
overnight. Or transfer to a slow crock-type cooker set on low to cook
overnight.
6. Dafina is traditionally separated into different dishes before serving:
the chickpeas and cooking liquid in one bowl, the eggs in a second, the
potatoes in a third, the meat in a fourth, and the dumpling in a fifth.
Posted to JEWISH-FOOD digest V97 #009
From: Pat Gold <plgold@ix.netcom.com>
Date: Sat, 31 Aug 1996 18:32:02 -0700
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