Libya | Main dish

Mbakbaka

Name: Mbakbaka
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 55 min
Total time: 75 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Libya, North Africa
Ingredients: 600 g lamb or chicken pieces; 2 tbsp olive oil; 1 large onion, chopped; 3 cloves garlic, minced; 3 tbsp tomato paste; 2 cups crushed tomatoes; 1 cup cooked chickpeas; 1 tsp cumin; 1 tsp paprika; ½ tsp cayenne; 500 g short pasta; 5 cups hot water or stock

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

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 Best for weeknight family meals, quick guest food, and camping pots., with a easy cooking level and about 75 minutes total.

What to serve alongside it

Simple salad, olives, pickles, or extra chili.

Regional lane

Libya national table. A verified 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.

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.

Ingredients

For 6 servings

Main dish

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 75 min total easy

Brown the meat

Cook meat, onion, and garlic in oil until fragrant and lightly browned.

brown 12:00

Build the sauce

Add tomato paste, tomatoes, chickpeas, spices, salt, and hot water, then simmer until the meat is nearly tender.

sauce 30:00

Cook pasta in the pot

Add pasta and simmer, stirring often, until the pasta is tender and saucy.

pasta 13:00

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.

Mbakbaka

What to know before you cook

Build the table around Mbakbaka

Step-by-step method

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