The 20 most famous dishes of Tunisia
Tunisian cooking is fiery and Mediterranean, led by harissa, olive oil and fish, combining Amazigh couscous, Ottoman brik and Andalusian and Italian touches.
1Tunisian Lamb Couscous
Steamed couscous moistened with a red, spicy tomato-harissa broth with lamb, chickpeas and vegetables.
2Brik à l'Œuf
Thin malsouka pastry filled with tuna, parsley, capers and a whole egg, folded into a triangle and fried…
3Lablabi
A humble chickpea soup with garlic, cumin and harissa, ladled over stale bread and topped with egg, tuna and…
4Ojja
Eggs cooked in a spicy tomato-pepper sauce with harissa, often with merguez sausage or prawns.
5Kafteji
A chopped mix of fried potatoes, pumpkin, peppers and tomatoes with egg and harissa — quintessential Tunisian…
6Tunisian Mloukhia
Unlike the Egyptian version, it is made from powdered dried jute leaves cooked for hours with oil and beef…
7Tunisian Tajine (Baked Frittata)
Not a stew like the Moroccan one, but a baked egg cake with chicken or meat, cheese and parsley, cut into…
8Slata Mechouia
Charcoal-grilled peppers, tomatoes and onions chopped with garlic, caraway and olive oil, topped with tuna…
9Fricassé
Small fried buns stuffed with tuna, potato, harissa, egg and olives — Tunisia's beloved little sandwich.
10Chorba Frik
A soup of cracked green wheat (frik) with lamb, tomato, celery and mint, present at every Ramadan iftar.
11Kamounia
A stew of beef or liver with lots of cumin and garlic, deep and warming, eaten with bread.
12Makarouna (Tunisian Spicy Pasta)
Pasta cooked in a rich red meat sauce with harissa, tabil and garlic — the everyday dish of Tunisian homes.
13Tunisian Mechoui (Grilled Lamb Chops)
Lamb pieces grilled over charcoal and served with slata mechouia and bread — the dish of roadside grills.
14Assidat Zgougou
A dark cream of Aleppo pine seeds topped with white custard and decorated with nuts — Tunisia's Mawlid…
15Bambalouni
Thin Tunisian doughnuts fried and rolled in sugar, sold hot by the sea in Sidi Bou Said.
16Yo-Yo (Tunisian Doughnut)
Orange-scented fried doughnuts soaked in honey and orange-blossom syrup, a Tunisian festive sweet.
17Fish Couscous
A coastal couscous with a red, spicy fish broth, famous in Sfax, Mahdia and Djerba.
18Homemade Harissa
A paste of hot red peppers, garlic, caraway, coriander and olive oil — the soul of Tunisian cooking,…
19Makroudh of Kairouan
Semolina diamonds filled with date paste, fried and dipped in honey — the most famous come from Kairouan.
20Bsissa
A toasted powder of barley, wheat, chickpeas and spices, mixed with olive oil and sugar or with milk — a…