Last Saturday was really cold. It’s not Milwaukee but it was very cold on any Israeli standards. I love to spned the weekends with my parents. They have underfloor heating which works throughout the weekend, the food is delicious, Noam has the best time and most importantly – they are the best company there is!
The truth is that I do not really need an excuse to go to Jerusalem and spend time with my parents, just allow me and I’m there.
But my brother was there last weekend with his boys, and because of the COVID19 is going wild we decided not to take a risk and stay home.
I decided to make Tabit. This is a Mediterranean dish, with rice, beef and eggs baked in the oven overnight.
So I called my mom (like 6 times), wrote down a recipe, got as detailed explanation as possible and it became a hit. And of course when something truns out so good I have to share it with you.
Ingredients
– 2.5 Lbs of chuck roast, cut into grossly cubes (2 inch X 2 inch)
– Eggs (as the number of people + spare)
-28 OZ (about 800 grams) of crushed tomatoes
– 1 small can of paste (6 OZ, about 170 grams)
– A heaping tablespoon of paprika
– 3 teaspoons of salt
– Half a teaspoon of black pepper
-4 cups of Jasmine rice
– Half a cup of vegetable oil + oil for frying the meat
preparation
1. Boil the eggs until hard
2. In a non-stick pan add oil generously and fry the meat pieces until it gets brown from all sides and take it out from the pot to a plate.
3. In the same pot, add half a cup of vegetable oil, heat it and add the crushed tomatoes, the tomatoes paste and the spices and a cup of boiling water. Cook over low heat for 20 minutes. In my mom’s words: “It’s not suppose to be pale – if it’s pale add some more paprika”
4. Rinse the rice and add to the pot. The hit is suppose to be medium-low and you should mix it occasionally with a wooden spoon. Do not mix too much so that the rice won’t break
5. When most of the water is absorbed in the rice, but there is still liquid in the pot, bury the boiled eggs (with the shell) on one side and the pieces of meat on the other side of the pot.
6. Close the lid and turn off the heat. There should be about 0.4-0.2 inches of liquid above everything when you turn of the hit.
7. Put the pot in oven at 7pm on a Friday night at 210 F\ 100 C until the next day at 1 PM.
8. On Saturday morning (as early as possible) add 3/4 cup boiling water to the pot
9. Take it out of the oven, take out the eggs to a separate plate.
10. You can serve the rice and the beef straight from the pot. I like to pin the pot to a suitable tray and turn it upside down.
Notes
– A lot of people make Tabit with chicken. My beloved late grandmother, used to make it with chicken. We are a family that prefers meat and therefore I used meat. The process with meat is exactly the same as the process with chicken.
– The rice should be prepared just before putting it in the oven. As close as possible to the time of putting it in the oven. I made it at 3 PM but put it in the oven at 7 PM. If it is possible to prepare the rice near the time of putting it in the oven – it is better. Of course you can cook the eggs, fry the meat and make the tomatoes sauce beforehand. But after adding the rice and cooking it partially, you should put the pot in the oven as soon as possible. The Tabit should be in the oven for 17-18 hours.
– The pot of the Tabit should be at the bottom of the oven. Place it on an upside down oven tray or on an oven net, so the pot won’t touch directly
at the bottom of the oven and burn.
– When choosing a pot, keep in mind that the rice swells and takes up space.
Sounds complicated, but it is not.Just follow Zehava’s instructions 🙂 There is a Jewish saying ” whoever work on Friday, will rest and enjoy (big time) on Saturday!For any question I am available right here, in the comments.
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