“Shakshuka”
Aka “Shakshouka”, “Shaqshuqa”, “Chakchouka”…
The first time I heard it was at a friends place, when I asked what was cooking…
I thought I was being given yet another nickname!
Shakshuka could fall in line with “Squashy”, “Squishy”, and “Smelly” quite easily…
Yes – I have been called ALL those! Why – I don’t have a clue…
Though, there is this one lady I work with (and prank often) who stomps her foot and says “Squash Shashi” when she sees me walking down the hallway (and there are no witnesses)…hmmm…note to self, guess I need to stop pranking her…
Getting back to Shakshuka
(Which I was relieved to find out isn’t another nickname)
But it IS a dish said to be made of eggs poached in a sauce made mainly of tomatoes, onions and cumin; quite popular in Arabian/Middle Eastern/African countries such as Tunisia, Libya, Algeria, Morocco, and Egypt.
It is highly aromatic – one of those dishes that as soon as they enter your olfactory system, they have this insane power to ignite those salivary glands in the back of your jaw – which are so hard to turn off -or tone down- unless they are introduced to the source of their ignition!
When I received a sample pack of a variety of canned tomatoes from Red Gold, I figured I would try my hand at “Shakshuka”! I used Red Gold’s lime and cilantro and green chilies Petite Diced Premium Tomatoes for a little kick as I like my food spicy!
While I love the heat of green chilies in a dish-they do stir up my stomach, so I try to balance them off with a good size chunk of ginger as ginger seems to help quell it. As I didn’t want to have leftovers, I made this dish with only 2 eggs, but add as many or as little as you want. Our house smelt wonderful while this cooked – Red Gold canned tomatoes were fresh and added a wonderfully unique taste and aroma to my version of Shakshuka.
Happy Thursday Everyone!
So do you have many nicknames? Do they rhyme with “Shakshuka”? 🙂
Would you love a sample pack of CLICK protein powder? Please enter my giveaway which ends this week!

Ginger Shakshuka
Ingredients
- 1 red onion chopped
- 1.5 inch piece of ginger chopped very finely
- 5 cloves garlic chopped
- 6 sweet peppers also chopped
- 2 cans of diced tomatoes, I used Red Gold Green Chilies and Lime& Cilantro
- Turmeric 1/2 teaspoon
- Cumin 1/2 teaspoon
- Paprika 1 teaspoon
- 2 eggs
- Salt and Pepper, according to taste -I used a couple of "dashes"
- Cilantro to garnish
Instructions
- Saute the onion, garlic and ginger in a pan coated with olive oil, on a low/medium flame till onions begin to slightly caramelize (about 20-30 mins)
- Add the sweet peppers, tomatoes, turmeric, cumin, paprika and salt and pepper and let cook for 5 minutes
- Make two little"wells" in the tomato sauce and break the eggs into them, lower flame slightly and let cook, partially covered, for 10-15 minutes till the eggs are cooked.
- Serve with naan or pita or eat it straight from the pan like we did! 🙂
Daniela @ FoodrecipesHQ
Friday 27th of June 2014
We have a similar recipe in Italy too. It is called Eggs in Purgatory... long story behind! Love the idea of adding spices.
leftbraincraftbrain
Saturday 21st of June 2014
This looks yummy!
Carmel Moments
Friday 20th of June 2014
Oh that looks fabulous Shashi! I'm so intrigued with all those delicious flavors. Pretty too! Have a beautiful weekend!
Kiran @ KiranTarun.com
Friday 20th of June 2014
Yummy!! Love shakshuka!! Especially for weekend brunches :)
ashley
Thursday 19th of June 2014
I have no idea how to pronounce this but it looks and sounds amazing!