Dfeena

Name: Dfeena
Cuisine: Egyptian
Ingredients: 6 eggs in their shells; 250–500 g (½–1 lb) chick peas or haricot beans, soaked overnight; Oil; 2 large onions, finely chopped; 2 cloves garlic, crushed; 1 calf’s foot (optional); 1 kg (2 lb) lean or fat stewing beef; 6 small potatoes; Salt and black pepper; 1 teaspoon ground allspice

Preparation info

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

A New Book of Middle Eastern Food

By Claudia Roden

Published 1986

About

A very rich and filling Egyptian speciality. It was particularly popular as a Sabbath meal in Jewish circles, since it could be left cooking gently from early on Friday.

Ingredients

1 kg (2 lb) lean or fat stewing beef
1 calf’s foot (optional)

Africa
Egypt
Main course
Mediterranean
Gluten-free

Method

Cut the meat into cubes. Blanch the calf’s foot in boiling water. Peel the potatoes, and scrub the egg-shells thoroughly. Fry the chopped onions in oil until soft and golden.

Put all these ingredients together with the drained chick peas or haricot beans (less commonly used for this dish than chick peas) in a large ovenproof pot or casserole with a tight-fitting lid. Cover with water an