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Dawood basha
Meatballs in tomato sauce
Dawood basha: Levantine meatballs and baby onions simmered in a tangy tomato sauce
Named, so the story goes, after an Ottoman governor who loved it, dawood basha is a homely Damascus and Beirut supper of small spiced meatballs simmered with baby onions in tomato sauce, finished with pine nuts. Families serve it ladled over vermicelli rice, and it is one of the first dishes Syrian children learn to love. The sauce is lightly tangy from pomegranate molasses and fragrant with allspice and cinnamon. Common mistake: crowding the meatballs when browning — they steam instead of colouring; fry in batches. Chef's tip: grate a little onion into the meat and squeeze out the juice first; the meatballs stay tender without falling apart.
- Total time
- 65 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the meatballs
- 1 ⅛ lb lamb or beef mince
- 1 onionsmall, grated and squeezed
- ½ oz flat-leaf parsleyfinely chopped
- 1 tsp ground allspice
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp olive oil
For the sauce
- 10 ½ oz baby onions or shallotspeeled
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 14 oz chopped tomatoes
- 1 ¼ cups water
- 1 tbsp pomegranate molasses
- ¾ tsp salt
- 1 oz pine nutstoasted
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Mix 1 ⅛ lb lamb or beef mince, 1 onion, ½ oz flat-leaf parsley, 1 tsp ground allspice, ½ tsp ground cinnamon and 1 tsp salt and roll into walnut-sized balls (about 25).
10 minStep 2: Heat 3 tbsp olive oil in a wide pan over a medium-high heat and brown the meatballs in batches for 5 minutes, rolling them, until coloured all over. Lift out.
10 minStep 3: In the same pan, brown 10 ½ oz baby onions or shallots for 6–8 minutes until golden in patches. Stir in 2 tbsp tomato paste for 1 minute.
8 minStep 4: Add 14 oz chopped tomatoes, 1 ¼ cups water, 1 tbsp pomegranate molasses and ¾ tsp salt, return the meatballs and simmer gently, half-covered, for 20 minutes until the onions are soft, the sauce has thickened and the meatballs are cooked through to 160°F.
20 minStep 5: Scatter with 1 oz pine nuts and serve hot over vermicelli rice.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 470 kcal
- Protein
- 27 g
- Carbs
- 18 g
- Fat
- 33 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does dawood basha take?
- About 65 minutes in total: 25 minutes to prepare and 40 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of flat-leaf parsley?
- Curly parsley or coriander, same amount.
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