All dishes made with spiced ground meat came to the world by way of central Asia. Whether is meatballs or Steak Tartare (conveniently named after central asian tribes) we can thank the Asian Steppes for this wide array of dishes.
Dawood Basha, is a levantine meatball dish made with a tomato sauce. Legend has it, the Dawood was the Ottoman governor of Lebanon, and that this dish was created for him. The legend continues that he liked it so much, he insisted it be served to him everyday. I did some research, but was unable to find a governor of Lebanon named Dawood. Although the Ottoman influence on the dish is evident in its name, as Basha or Pasha was an Ottoman rank. As well as the fact that turks, being a people of the steppe, were probably masters of kofta.
Another part of the mystery to me is the tomato based sauce. As we know, tomatoes are a new world plant, so their use in so many levantine dishes fascinates me. What makes it even more interesting, is while most Arab countries' word for tomato is tamatem which is based in the Spanish word tamate which in turn comes from the native American word for tomatoes. The levant, however, uses the word بندورة which comes from the Italian word, pomodoro, for tomatoes. It's a historical fact that when a new item is introduced to an area, its name is usually taken from the merchants who introduced it. Most likely, Italian merchants brought tomatoes to the levant and influenced both the name and how it's cooked. So a dish that involves meatballs and tomatoes makes a lot of sense.
Dawood Basha is traditionally served with rice, but some people enjoy it with bread. I imagine that it might even work with pasta.
Again, like all traditional foods, there are many ways to cook this. Some people cook it on the stove top, just dropping the meatballs in the sauce. Other people fry up the meat balls and then drop it into he sauce. There is no wrong way, just a way that works for you.
Some cooking tips:
If you don't have prepared kofta you can mix in a chopped onion and some parsley into ground lamb (beef works too, but lamb is traditional) add spices to taste.
You can prepare and refrigerate the meat balls up to a day ahead.
Dawood Basha, is a levantine meatball dish made with a tomato sauce. Legend has it, the Dawood was the Ottoman governor of Lebanon, and that this dish was created for him. The legend continues that he liked it so much, he insisted it be served to him everyday. I did some research, but was unable to find a governor of Lebanon named Dawood. Although the Ottoman influence on the dish is evident in its name, as Basha or Pasha was an Ottoman rank. As well as the fact that turks, being a people of the steppe, were probably masters of kofta.
Another part of the mystery to me is the tomato based sauce. As we know, tomatoes are a new world plant, so their use in so many levantine dishes fascinates me. What makes it even more interesting, is while most Arab countries' word for tomato is tamatem which is based in the Spanish word tamate which in turn comes from the native American word for tomatoes. The levant, however, uses the word بندورة which comes from the Italian word, pomodoro, for tomatoes. It's a historical fact that when a new item is introduced to an area, its name is usually taken from the merchants who introduced it. Most likely, Italian merchants brought tomatoes to the levant and influenced both the name and how it's cooked. So a dish that involves meatballs and tomatoes makes a lot of sense.
Dawood Basha is traditionally served with rice, but some people enjoy it with bread. I imagine that it might even work with pasta.
Again, like all traditional foods, there are many ways to cook this. Some people cook it on the stove top, just dropping the meatballs in the sauce. Other people fry up the meat balls and then drop it into he sauce. There is no wrong way, just a way that works for you.
Some cooking tips:
If you don't have prepared kofta you can mix in a chopped onion and some parsley into ground lamb (beef works too, but lamb is traditional) add spices to taste.
You can prepare and refrigerate the meat balls up to a day ahead.
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