Margoog — matazeez — is a traditional Najdi stew of central Saudi Arabia, meat and vegetables simmered with squares of thin dough that thicken the pot. Hearty and homely, it is Bedouin-rooted winter cooking.
Spoon up margoog and the dough squares are soft and slippery, like rustic pasta, in a thick, deeply spiced lamb broth studded with sweet pumpkin. Bite: hearty and comforting, the dough soaking up the loomi-and-baharat broth, the lamb tender, the pumpkin sweet against the spice. The cold-desert-night stew of central Arabia.
The dough squares cook directly in the broth, releasing starch that thickens the stew into a rich, all-in-one dish — flatbread and stew become one. The dried lime and baharat give the Najdi spice signature; pumpkin adds body and a balancing sweetness.
Variations
As matazeez. With chicken. With more vegetables. Thicker (jareesh-style). With okra. Spicier.
On the Palate
Where Margoog Najdi sits in the Saudi flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 6How it's made
8 steps · 40 min active · 60 min waiting
- 112 min
Make a stiff dough of flour, water, and salt; rest it.
- 28 min
Brown lamb pieces with onion in a heavy pot.
- 33 min
Add tomato, tomato paste, baharat, turmeric, and dried lime.
- 446 min
Add water and simmer the lamb 45 min until nearly tender.
- 54 min
Add cubed pumpkin and other vegetables.
- 68 min
Roll the dough thin and cut into squares; drop them into the simmering stew.
- 716 min
Cook 15 min until the dough squares are soft and the broth thickens.
- 83 min
Serve hot in deep bowls.
