AI-generated image
Mlawi
ملاوي (mlawi): Tunisia's flaky folded griddle bread, filled with tuna, harissa, egg and olives
Mlawi is the flaky griddle bread of Tunisian street corners: a semolina dough oiled, folded and flattened into a square, then cooked on a hot plate until blistered and layered like puff pastry. In the Medina of Tunis, around Bab Bhar and the lanes leading to the Zitouna Mosque, women roll and flip them all morning, and the classic order is a mlawi spread with fiery harissa and rolled around tuna, sliced egg and black olives, eaten hot for breakfast or a mid-morning snack. It contains wheat, fish and egg. Chef's tip: let the folded squares rest for 5 minutes before the final flattening, so they spread without springing back.
- Total time
- 60 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the dough
- 5 ½ oz fine semolina
- 5 ½ oz plain flour
- 1 tsp salt
- ¾ cup warm waterabout
- 6 tbsp olive oilfor the dough and folding
For the filling
- 3 eggs
- 4 tsp harissa paste
- 8 ½ oz tinned tuna in oildrained weight
- 2 ⅛ oz pitted black olivessliced
- 2 tbsp flat-leaf parsley (optional)chopped
Shop this recipe on Amazon
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (2)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/8 doneStep 1: Mix 5 ½ oz fine semolina, 5 ½ oz plain flour and 1 tsp salt, add ¾ cup warm water gradually with 1 tablespoon of 6 tbsp olive oil and knead for 8–10 minutes, until very smooth and soft.
10 minStep 2: Divide into 4 balls, rub each with oil, cover and rest for 20 minutes.
20 minStep 3: Meanwhile, lower 3 eggs into boiling water and cook for 10 minutes, until the yolks are fully set. Cool in cold water, peel and slice.
12 minStep 4: Oil the work surface and your hands. Flatten a ball with your palms and stretch it into a very thin round about 30 cm across. Brush with oil, fold the left and right sides into the middle, then fold the top and bottom in to make a square. Repeat with the rest.
8 minStep 5: Rest the squares for 5 minutes, then press each one out with oiled hands into a 20 cm square. Common mistake: flattening too soon; the dough shrinks back and the layers fuse together.
5 minStep 6: Cook one at a time on a dry, heavy frying pan or griddle over a medium heat for 3 minutes per side, pressing with a spatula, until puffed, flaky and spotted golden brown.
12 minStep 7: While each mlawi is hot, spread it thinly with 4 tsp harissa paste, scatter over 8 ½ oz tinned tuna in oil, the egg slices, 2 ⅛ oz pitted black olives and 2 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, then fold or roll it up and wrap in paper.
Step 8: Vegetarian version: leave out the tuna and fill with harissa, the sliced egg and grated cheese; traditional cheeses may be made with animal rennet, so choose one labelled vegetarian.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 520 kcal
- Protein
- 25 g
- Carbs
- 54 g
- Fat
- 23 g
- Fibre
- 3 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does mlawi take?
- About 60 minutes in total: 35 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- What can I use instead of plain flour?
- Self-raising flour, same amount (then leave out the baking powder).
- What can I use instead of eggs?
- 1 tbsp ground flaxseed + 3 tbsp water per egg, left for 5 minutes (baking only; vegan).
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Bsissa
A tin of bsissa sits in many Tunisian kitchen cupboards, from Tunis flats to farmhouses in the south: a finely ground flour of roasted barley, roasted chickpeas and spices such as coriander, fennel and aniseed. In the morning a few spoonfuls are worked with olive oil and something sweet into a nutty, crumbly paste, or stirred with water into a thick drink, and it keeps you going until lunch. Travellers and pilgrims once carried it for the road. Roasting your own flour takes 15 minutes and makes a jar that lasts weeks. Sugar and dates keep it vegan; some families use honey. Chef's tip: roast the flours separately over a low heat and stir constantly; the moment they smell like toasted biscuits and turn light tan, tip them out of the pan.
Paneer pudas
Pudas are thin savoury pancakes. These low-calorie ones are made from rice, maize and wheat flour mixed with crumbled paneer, spinach, fenugreek and coriander and a fresh paste of onion, chilli, mint, garlic and ginger. The moisture in the vegetables and paneer is enough to bind the dough, so no ghee, oil, yogurt or water goes into it. Cook on a griddle with just a little oil and serve with tea, or with plain yogurt and pickle.
Indian
Tunisian octopus salad
Fishermen of the Kerkennah islands, off Sfax, still catch octopus in clay pots laid on the shallow seabed, and in winter the season's catch turns up in harbour cafés and home kitchens as this simple salad. The octopus is simmered slowly until tender, cooled in its broth, then sliced and tossed with red onion, plenty of parsley, lemon juice and good olive oil, with a little harissa if you like. It is light, clean and briny, eaten as a starter with bread or on a summer table of salads and grilled fish. Buy octopus from a reputable fishmonger; frozen and thawed octopus is often more tender than fresh. A common mistake is boiling the octopus at a rolling boil, which makes it rubbery; keep it at a gentle simmer until a knife slides in easily. Chef's tip: let the cooked octopus cool in its cooking liquid for 20 minutes before slicing; it stays juicy rather than tightening up.
