Libyan · main

Bazin

Bazin reads umami 6.3, richness 5.9 and salinity 4.5 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Libyan main, about 2 hr 34 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

• Umami & Savory — 6.8 / 10
• Sweet & Fruity — 2.6 / 10
• Sour & Bright — 2.1 / 10
• Bitter & Earthy — 2.9 / 10
• Rich & Fat — 6.6 / 10
• Aromatic & Spice — 3.2 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Umami 6.3 · Richness 5.9 · Salinity 4.5 · Allium 3.0 · Earthy 2.6 · Nutty 2.2 · Sweetness 2.1 · Sourness 1.9 · Bitterness 1.5 · Fruity 1.4 · Funk & Ferment 1.2 · Herbaceous 1.1 · Floral 0.5

What's in it (16)

• barley — 500 g
• water — 1000 g
• salt — 5 g
• lamb — 700 g
• olive oil — 55 g
• onion — 110 g
• tomato paste — 60 g
• sweet paprika — 10 g
• turmeric — 5 g
• hararat — 10 g
• dried red chilli — 5 g
• chickpeas — 150 g
• potatoes — 510 g
• eggs — 200 g
• salt — 10 g
• water — 1000 g

Time & effort: about 2 hr 34 min (2 hr 31 min active) · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 102.4 kcal, 6.5 g protein, 3 g fat, 12.8 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat · Contains egg — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (9 steps)

1. Heat the olive oil in a deep pot and brown the lamb 8 minutes over high heat.
2. Add the onion and cook 6 minutes over medium heat.
3. Add the tomato paste, paprika, turmeric, hararat and crushed chilli and fry 3 minutes until the paste darkens and the oil turns red.
4. Pour in the litre of sauce water, add the drained chickpeas, and simmer 60 minutes over low heat.
5. Add the potatoes and simmer a further 25 minutes.
6. Lower the whole eggs into the simmering sauce in their shells and cook 12 minutes, then lift them out and peel. Season the sauce with the salt.
7. For the bazin, bring the dough water to the boil with the dough salt. Whisk in the barley flour in a steady stream and cook 5 minutes, stirring hard. Barley, not wheat, is the marker of bazin - it gives a darker, denser, faintly bitter dough that wheat flour cannot imitate.
8. Cover and cook 20 minutes over the lowest heat, then work the dough against the side of the pot with a wooden stick for 10 minutes until it is smooth and heavy enough to hold a shape.
9. Turn the dough out onto a platter and mould it into a smooth dome. Pour the sauce around the base, arrange the lamb, potatoes, chickpeas and peeled eggs around it, and eat from a communal dish, pinching pieces of dough and dipping them in the sauce.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

• Chakhchoukha — Algerian
• Meatball Subs with Melted Provolone — Italian-American
• Baked Rigatoni with Mini Meatballs — Italian-American
• Lamb Ragu over Pappardelle — Italian-American
• Beef and Ricotta Meatball Bake with Garlic Toast — Italian-American

Keep reading: what umami, richness, salinity mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.