Meatball Tagine with Eggs

Tagine or tajine dish is of North African origin.  Morrocans and Tunisians have also their own version of this dish.  It was name as such after the name of the earthenware pot that they use to cook it.  In the Philippines we call this pot -- claypot (banga, balanga).  The difference between the tagine pot and the philippine claypot is the height of the pot.  Tagines have wider mouth and shallower than the Philippine claypot.  I think the Filipinos would agree that the aroma that's coming from the claypot adds a lot to the taste of the dish.  When we were still kids, our family would always prefer to use claypots and open fire (using kahoy or wood) because of the additional flavour the dish or even rice would get from the pot.  I think there are still small shops at the towncenter that sell this type of pots.

Tagine photo courtesy of  morroco.com

Filipino claypot courtesy of reflectionofasia.com

I've found this tagine recipe in one of the recipe books that my husband had subscribed for me.  I got interested because it seemed like it would really taste yummy...and not too much ingredients are needed.  The original recipe calls for a teaspoon of cumin but it is a strong spice, I decided to just add 1/2 cumin.  I do not have a claypot or tagine pot so I used the sizzling pan instead.  We all love the dish and it was so difficult not to finish the whole thing in one sitting.

Ingredients
Meatballs
1/2 k beef, minced
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp coriander
salt and pepper to taste

Tagine
1 large  onion, chopped into rings
1 tsp sugar
150 ml vegetable stock
1/2 cumin
4 tomatoes, peeled, deseeded and chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
4 eggs

Procedure
Mix all the ingredients for meatballs.
Roll into small balls.  Refrigerate for an hour.
Heat a sizzling pan.  Pour in the olive oil.
Caramelise onions with sugar until they are soft and transparent.
Add in the rest of the ingredients for tagine except for the eggs.
Cook for 15 minutes.
Add in the meatballs and cook for 10 minutes more. 
Switch off the stove.  Put the eggs in the dish.
Serve in the sizzling pan.

   
A comment or two will be appreciated...