Moroccan Khlea and Egg Tagine, a favourite North African breakfast

The next recipe for our Tagine Masterclass series is Moroccan Khlea and Egg Tagine; probably the quickest and easiest tagine you’ll ever make! Provided you have Khlea sitting in your fridge from our last post.

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

Moroccan Khlea and Egg Tagine
Khlea and Egg Tagine

What is Khlea?

Khlea, as you remember, is a type of preserved meat popular in Morocco and certain parts of North Africa. In our last post, I gave you a quick version of it, so, don’t fret if you haven’t made it, it’s super easy and just needs 24 hours of marinating in the fridge before you cook it. Click on the above links to get to it. To see the other recipes in the Tagine Masterclass, click here.

This Khlea and Egg Tagine is a favourite of mine, I make it fairly often in a tagine or even quicker still, in a frying pan. Amazing combination of creamy, soft eggs and salty, marinated meat. So easy, but so effective! It’s also a recipe that I seek out when I’m in North Africa, it’s not difficult to find, mind you. It’s certainly a popular breakfast dish in Morocco, served with freshly made bread.

Khlea and Egg Tagine Recipe

The cooking time I give you here is for the recipe made in a tagine. Depending on your heat level (one cook’s medium is another cook’s high!), it might take up to 10 minutes for the fat from the khlea to melt, and another 7 – 10 minutes for the eggs to cook.

If truth be told, unless you are using an unglazed tagine or any unglazed clay vessel, there isn’t going to be any difference in cooking it in your usual frying pan. And in a frying pan, it’ll take you 5 – 7 minutes, altogether!

Moroccan Khlea and Egg Tagine

Variations to the Moroccan Khlea and Egg Tagine:

In Casablanca, I’ve had Khlea and Egg Tagine with cheese. Many types of cheese will work: parmesan, cheddar, gruyere, brie, camembert, just to name a few favourites. Mozzarella will give you that characteristic stretchy texture. Grate/chop the cheese and either mix it with the beaten egg, or sprinkle all over about a minute before taking it off the heat.

In Fes, I had one with merguez (spicy North African sausages) chopped up and cooked alongside the Khlea. If going down the sausage route, you’ll have to cook the sausages to the almost done stage before adding the eggs. You’ll find my homemade merguez recipe here, without the use of a sausage machine.

Stall at a souk in Tunisia
Stall at a souk in Tunisia

In Tunisia, I’ve had it with tabil (click for recipe) sprinkled all over, instead of just the cumin. And just for fun, I’ve given you a glimpse of some of the (cheap) delights a souk has to offer!

Besides that, following on from the Tunisian version, you can use any manner of seasoning, as a variation in your Khlea and Egg Tagine.

Other Spice Mixes and Ingredients for Khlea Tagine

Berbere, Ethiopian Spice Mix
Recipe for homemade Berbere, an essential Ethiopian Spice Mix, that fiery red mix that gives Ethiopian wots (stews) their characteristic flavour and, without which, a wot is just not a wot!
Check out this ingredient
Red spice in black bowl
Advieh (Persian Spice Mix)
Advieh is an aromatic Persian spice mix, much like the Indian Garam Masala, and is used extensively in Persian cooking. Advieh tends to be more aromatic than “warm” compared to the garam masala.
Check out this ingredient
Advieh Persian Spice Mix
Zereshk

How to Use Barberries (Zereshk, an essential Persian ingredient)

A simple explanation on how to use barberries in your kitchen.
5 from 11 votes
Print Pin Add to Collection
Course: Ingredients
Cuisine: Persian
Keyword: ingredients, persian, spices
Prep Time: 12 minutes
Total Time: 12 minutes
Author: Azlin Bloor
Cost: £5/100g ($2/oz)

Ingredients

Instructions

As a cooking ingredient

  • Soak them in tepid water for about 10 minutes, squeeze dry and use whole or chopped up.

As a garnish

  • Sauté them in butter and a little sugar to counteract the tartness, before using them whole.

You’ll find exact methods in the recipes that I use them in, see my article above.

    Did you make this recipe?Mention @azlinbloor and tag #linsfood!
    Made it? Upload your photosMention @azlinbloor and tag #linsfood!

    Needless to say, chilli is always going to be good in this! And you could also add small amounts of the odd vegetable into the mix. Be careful though, as I always tell my students, a little goes a long way. Make too many changes, and it will no longer be what it was meant to be. N’est-ce pas?

    Now let’s get down to business!

    If you like the recipe and article, don’t forget to leave me a comment and that all important, 5-star rating! Thank you!

    And if you make the recipe, share it on any platform and tag me @azlinbloor, and hashtag it #linsfood.

    Lin xx

    Moroccan Khlea and Egg Tagine

    Khlea tagine is an amazing combination of creamy, soft eggs and salty, marinated meat. Perfect with bread.
    5 from 10 votes
    Print Pin Add to Collection
    Course: Breakfast
    Cuisine: Moroccan
    Keyword: eggs, tagine
    Prep Time: 2 minutes
    Cook Time: 18 minutes
    Total Time: 20 minutes
    Servings: 2
    Calories: 358kcal
    Author: Azlin Bloor

    Ingredients

    • 4 heaped Tbsp khlea
    • 6 eggs
    • 1 Tbsp double heavy cream (optional)
    • pinch of salt
    • pinch of cumin
    • freshly ground black pepper
    • a very small amount of fresh parsley finely chopped

    Instructions

    • Beat the eggs lightly with a fork, with the pinch of salt.
    • Heat the tagine on medium high heat over a diffuser.
    • Add your cold khlea to the cool tagine and wait for the tagine to heat up and the fat to melt. This might take up to 10 minutes. Give it a stir every now and then.
    • When the fat has melted, scoop some out, I usually get rid of about 1 – 2 tablespoons, depending on how much fat was clinging to the meat. Do not add the fat back to your cold khlea in the jar. If you like, you can use it in another dish but in the interest of food safety, do it within the next couple of hours.
    • Stir the khlea a little and let it warm up for about 30 seconds.
    • Pour the beaten egg into the tagine. Now it's not going to sizzle up like it would if you're using a frying pan.
    • Let it settle for about 20 – 30 seconds, then stir it, breaking it up, like you would, when making scrambled eggs. Continue doing this for about 5 minutes, let it set, stir, set and stir. You'll only need to do this about 3 – 4 times.
    • When the eggs look like they are losing most of their liquid, drizzle in the cream, if using. Stir once again if the egg isn't too set. If you can't stir, just leave the cream to be absorbed.
    • When the egg tagine looks like it’s almost cooked, take it off the heat, sprinkle the cumin, pepper and chopped parsley all over and serve immediately, with any type of bread you fancy.

    Notes

    Making this in a frying pan, will drastically cut down the cooking time, to about 5 minutes.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 358kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 26g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 541mg | Sodium: 228mg | Potassium: 341mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 824IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 90mg | Iron: 3mg
    Did you make this recipe?Mention @azlinbloor and tag #linsfood!
    Made it? Upload your photosMention @azlinbloor and tag #linsfood!

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    14 thoughts on “Moroccan Khlea and Egg Tagine, a favourite North African breakfast”

    1. What a great post! Buying the tagine dish has been on my list since I saw it in a shop several years back. It just looked soo cool. However, I didn’t know what to use it for. Now I know :).

    2. Hi Azlin, I saw this post on Google+ today and had to come over to check it out. I lived and worked all around North Africa for quite a few years and love the food of the region. I am really pleased to have come across your blog, you have so many great recipes. I am an avid cook and love to entertain, so you can expect me to be visiting your site regularly! I am going to make some khlea today, love it but have never made it, and am excited to see a recipe for it! Thank you for your authentic recipes!

      1. Hi Thomas, thank you so much for your message, I do love to hear from my readers and love to know when they’ve tried out my recipes. Lucky you to have lived in North Africa, it’s one of my favourite places to be, for the people, the food and the culture! Let me know how it goes with the khlea!

        1. Thomas Mann

          Ok, I am back for the report! In one word? Awesome! I made quite a big batch, quadrupled your recipe, that’s how confident I am in your cooking! We (my wife and I) are extremely happy with the result. We made the egg and khlea tagine and also had it on its own with some bread. A definte keeper of a recipe. My wife says thank you too!

    3. Samantha Hawthorn

      Oh wow, I am really loving your Tagine Masterclass series! This is simply amazing! I’m happy to say that I made your Khlea recipe, so I can go ahead with this! Sundays are our special breakfast days, so I have this planned for it. Do you think ciabatta or just plain baguette will do to go with it?

      1. Oh wow, Samantha, thank you , you’re a star for letting me know! Yes, either bread will be perfect. I also just love garlic bread with it, the additional garlic flavouring is wonderful! Let me know how it goes, ok?

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