Kefta tagine with eggs is a classic Moroccan dish of spiced meatballs simmered in a rich tomato sauce and finished with eggs.
I was travelling through Morocco the first time I ate this dish. We had stopped in Casablanca for a few days and a Canadian guy we met at our accommodation insisted we come and have the best meatball tagine in Morocco. So in 45 degree heat we followed him to the Marche Central, a bustling food market.
After wading through the crowds we arrived at this very rudimental hole in the wall eatery. I must admit I was a little reluctant as there were a lot of flies buzzing around and no visible refrigeration. But I tend to throw caution to the wind when travelling and eat as the locals do and I am so glad I did! It was the most delicious meal ever, full of spice and flavour and texture.
What is Kefta Mkaouara (Moroccan Meatball Tagine)?
Kefta Mkaouara is a dish consisting of spiced meatballs cooked in an aromatic tomato based sauce with (just cooked) fresh eggs cracked over the top then garnished with fresh coriander. It is the ultimate in Moroccan comfort food.
Ingredients you need to make Kefta Mkaouara:
You will need a fair few spices to make this dish but other than that the ingredients are very simple.
- Spices: Cumin, ground coriander, cinnamon, ground ginger, smoked paprika, turmeric, salt and pepper.
- Aromatics: Garlic and onion.
- Mince: Lamb or beef, we have used both but you can use either or.
- Herbs: Coriander (cilantro) and parsley
- Eggs
- Canned diced tomatoes
- Tomato Paste
- Honey
Watch How to Make It
If you prefer to see it come together, I’ve filmed the full process here:
What to serve with Kefta Mkaouara?
Couscous is an obvious choice, we served it with plain couscous cooked in a little chicken stock and dabbed with butter. The Meatball tagine is so flavourful you don’t need any fancy accompaniments. Another great choice is flat bread, Msemen or Khobz would be traditional Moroccan breads, although pita would work just fine. As long as you have a vessel to soak up all that delicious sauce, I have even used crusty baguette before and it was delicious.
Storing your Moroccan Meatball Tagine.
This dish freezes really well, I often make a double batch and freeze a portion so that I have a quick and easy midweek dinner ready to go. Just follow all the steps up until the egg cracking. Let it cool to room temperature and then store in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months. Defrost and then heat up and proceed with the egg cracking step and fresh coriander and voila!
Final thoughts:
Don’t let the long list of spices put you off, this dish is actually really simple and easy to make and full of the delicious and unique flavours of Morocco. So the next time you are looking to cook something a little exotic give these Kefta Mkaouara a try, you wont be disappointed. Besseha!
Kefta Mkaouara (Moroccan Meatball and Egg Tagine)
Equipment
- 1 Tagine or Dutch Oven
- 1 Mixing Bowl
Ingredients
Kefta (Meatballs)
- 300 grams lamb mince
- 300 grams beef mince
- 1 onion grated
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup coriander (cilantro) finely chopped
- ¼ cup parsley finely chopped
- 1 tbsp olive oil for frying
Tomato Sauce
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp coriander
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 800 grams diced tomatoes canned
- ½ cup water
- 1 tsp honey
- salt and pepper to taste
To finish
- 4 eggs
- ¼ cup coriander (cilantro) leaves picked
Instructions
- Start by making the meatballs. Combine all meatball ingredients in a large mixing bowl and use your clean hands to massage the ingredients together until the are one homogeneous mass
- Dab a little olive oil on your hands then roll out the mince mixture into golf ball sized meatballs. This recipe should make about 16-18 meatballs.
- Heat some olive oil in the tagine or dutch oven, then fry off your meatballs until they are lightly browned all over, then remove and set aside (you may have to do this in batches, so that you don't overcrowd the meatballs).
- Next in the same tagine add the diced onion and sauté for about 5 minutes until onion softened and become translucent.
- Next add the garlic and sauté for another minute before adding all of the spices. Let the spices cook off for a minute, then add the tomato paste, tinned tomatoes, water and honey.
- Stir the sauce so that all the ingredients are well combined then add the meatballs back into the sauce.
- Bring to the boil, then turn the heat down to a low simmer and cover and simmer for 40 minutes.
- After 40 minutes is up, remove the lid and crack 4 eggs into the tagine. Then cover again with the lid and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and remove the lid from the tagine and allow it to stand for a couple of minutes before serving hot, garnished with fresh coriander.
Nutrition
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Made this tonight for dinner and it was amazing! Myself and my son couldn’t get enough!!! Delicious!!!!
So glad you liked it x