Destination
Tangier
The story
Mkila khlii is Fes's traditional breakfast egg dish and one of the most Fassi things you can eat: cubes of khlii (the Moroccan air-cured, spice-coated preserved beef that every Fassi household stockpiles in glass jars) are warmed in their own preserved fat in a small clay dish, eggs are cracked over the top, and everything is scrambled or left as a runny-yolk omelette. Served with a fresh khobz for scooping and a small glass of mint tea, this is the breakfast that Fassi families make on cold winter mornings and on Eid al-Adha, when the household's stock of khlii is at its highest.
Method
Use a small individual clay dish (mkila), a mini cast-iron skillet, or a small heavy pan — about 20cm across. Enough for 2 to 4 servings out of one pan.
Spoon the reserved khlii fat into the pan. Warm over medium heat until the fat is fully melted and starting to shimmer.
If using onion and garlic, add now and sweat 3 minutes until soft. Some Fassi cooks skip the onion — the khlii itself is heavily spiced.
Add the cubed khlii and toss to coat in the fat. Cook 4 minutes over medium heat, letting the meat sizzle in its fat and re-heat through. The meat should smell aggressively of spice and released beef aromatics.
Sprinkle in the salt, pepper and cumin. Distribute evenly across the pan.
Crack the 6 eggs directly over the khlii. Do not stir. Cover the pan with a lid or a plate and cook 3 to 4 minutes over medium-low heat until the egg whites are just set but the yolks are still runny.
Uncover. Scatter with chopped coriander and dust with paprika.
Bring the pan directly to the table with a stack of warm khobz. Diners tear the bread and scoop khlii, egg and yolk together. No cutlery required.
Tips
- Khlii is the whole dish. You cannot make mkila khlii without khlii. Buy it from a Moroccan grocer online or (better) from a Moroccan butcher. Homemade khlii is a 2-week project that starts with 2kg of raw beef strips.
- The preserved fat is the flavour. Do not drain it off. That amber fat, thick with spices, is what makes the dish taste distinctly Moroccan.
- Small clay dish is classical. A traditional mkila is a small individual clay pot that goes on the fire. A small cast-iron skillet does the same job and looks similar on the table.
- Don't scramble the eggs. Cracked-and-covered gives you runny yolks over set whites — the classical presentation. Stirring gives you scrambled eggs, which is a different (and less impressive) dish.
- Serve family-style. Bring the pan to the table. Everyone eats from the same pan with bread. This is the traditional Fassi breakfast format.
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