Libya | Main dish

Mbakbaka

Libyan one-pot pasta cooked directly in a spicy tomato sauce with lamb or chicken, chickpeas, and warm spices.

Country
Libya
Region
North Africa
Time
75 min
Serves
6
Level
easy
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Recipe overview

What to know before you cook

Mbakbaka is one of Libya's great everyday one-pot meals. Pasta cooks in the sauce itself, absorbing tomato, chili, meat juices, spices, and chickpeas until every spoonful tastes seasoned all the way through.

What the dish tastes like

Libyan one-pot pasta cooked directly in a spicy tomato sauce with lamb or chicken, chickpeas, and warm spices.

When to cook it

Best for weeknight family meals, quick guest food, and camping pots.. Plan on a easy cook and about 75 minutes total.

What to serve alongside it

Simple salad, olives, pickles, or extra chili.

Regional lane

Libya national table. A structured Libya dish in the AfroKitchen archive.

Chef watch-outs
  • Rushing the base before the raw edge has cooked out.
  • Adding all seasoning early and forgetting to adjust at the end.
  • Cooking on heat that is too high once the dish should be steaming or simmering.
How you know it is ready
  • The aroma should smell rounded rather than raw or sharp.
  • Oil, sauce, broth, or steam should look settled and deliberate.
  • The final texture should match the dish style before you plate it.
Recipe photos

See the dish before you cook

Each recipe supports one main image and up to four extra prep, serving, or step photos when they are available.

Mbakbaka recipe from Libya
Mbakbaka finished dish
Chef board

Build the table around Mbakbaka

Simple salad, olives, pickles, or extra chili.

Best route from here

Libya national table

Collections to keep cooking
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Servings 6

Scale the dish before you shop, then use the checklist while you cook.

How to cook it

Step-by-step method

Keep the rhythm calm, watch the texture, and adjust seasoning at the end.

Back to Libya
4 steps 20 min prep 55 min cook 75 min total easy
1
Brown the meat
Cook meat, onion, and garlic in oil until fragrant and lightly browned.
brown 12:00
2
Build the sauce
Add tomato paste, tomatoes, chickpeas, spices, salt, and hot water, then simmer until the meat is nearly tender.
sauce 30:00
3
Cook pasta in the pot
Add pasta and simmer, stirring often, until the pasta is tender and saucy.
pasta 13:00
4
Rest before serving
Cover off heat for a few minutes so the sauce clings to the pasta.
rest 05:00

Some cooks use lamb, others chicken or no meat. Pasta shape, chickpeas, potatoes, and chili strength change by household.

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