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In the North of Africa, Rishta or Rishda is a spaghetti-like dish with an exquisite flavor. In Libya, it is a popular pasta dish with thin noodles bathed in Busla – onion-rich sauce in this country.
Rishta in Libya is often known as Rishdat Cascas (Couscousiere Rishda) and Rishda Imbaukha (steamed Rishda). In Tripoli (the capital city of Libya), the dish is loved among the local citizens.
A dish called ‘Makaruna Imbaukha’ (steamed pasta) can be misrecognized with Rishta. However, they are quite different because Makaruna Imbaukha uses a special pasta called ‘dry angel-hair pasta’.
Rishta Recipe
This meal requires soaking the fava beans and chickpeas in cold water for at least 2 hours before cooking. You can soak your beans overnight.
Sometimes you can even soak and boil the beans in general and freeze them for immediate use later during each month’s meal planning.
In North African Traditional Cuisine, they use dry meat quite a lot. Which I guess come from the Amazigh / Berber culture.
This dry meat known as Gedid is meat salted and dried by the sun to be preserved for longer periods. Its often used to add a special smoky taste to lots of traditional dishes just like the purpose of beef or chicken stock/bouillon cubes.
Suggestions for Amazon links to “Libyan Food”
I hope you guys enjoy this Rishta Recipe.
Rishta recipe
Rishta or Rishda is a favorite Libyan/North African dish.
Ingredients
- For the pasta:
- 750 g white flour
- 1 egg beaten
- 1 tea spoon salt
- 200 ml water enough to make a hard dough
- Base sauce to cook meat:
- 4-6 lamb meat pieces
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- 3-4 table spoon tomato paste
- 1 tea spoons each of:
- black pepper
- turmeric
- red chili powder
- ginger
- cinnamon
- 11/2 liter boiling water
- Busla/Onion sauce:
- 4-5 medium onion cut into thin wings
- 2 cups chick peas soaked over night
- 1 tea spoon ground cloves
- 2 sticks cinnamon or 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Mix the flour with the egg and salt. Add water gradually till you get a hard dough.
- Knead the dough. On a clean surface sprinkle cornflour under and over the dough, and roll out.
- Cut into strips and put through a pasta machine repeatedly, first to thin out and the second time to produce thin noodles similar to angel hair pasta.
- Put onions, spices, tomato paste and oil at the bottom part of the couscousiere.
- Stir and add the meat till the meat is cooked.
- Cook the chickpeas. Slice the onions into rings and add to the sauce.
- Place the rishda in the couscousiere and cook uncovered for around 15 minutes. Take down the couscousiere and pour the rishda into a bowl to fluff or separate the noodles to make sure they are not clumping. Put the rishda back in the couscousiere and cook again till fully cooked, around 20 minutes.
- Add potatoes and pumpkin to the sauce at the bottom part of the couscousiere.
- Take off the rishda, pour into a wide bowl if communal or separate plates. Pour the sauce over the noodles/pasta, and then add the meat and potatoes and pumpkin.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
