In Israel people say “Tripolitan” (in Hebrew, “טריפוליטאי”) about almost the entire cuisine of Libyan Jews, even when the family came from Benghazi, Homs or another town. Tripoli was the largest community and the name became a catch-all term. It is a Mediterranean and North African cuisine with a clear Italian layer: couscous, spicy meat stews and fish on one side; pasta and nokidess on the other. The base that recurs in almost every pot is tomato paste fried in oil with garlic, paprika and caraway until it darkens and loses its raw taste.
This page focuses on the versions preserved by Libyan Jews in Israel. All the ingredients are available in ordinary Israeli supermarket chains; for barley flour, harissa and ground caraway, a health food shelf or a spice shop is enough. Dishes that require intestine casings or special offal, like traditional usbana, are not on the list, because the goal here is a recipe you can actually make in a home Israeli kitchen.
The ten dishes, with a calorie estimate per serving
| Dish | Type | Calories per recommended serving |
|---|---|---|
| Tripolitan shakshuka | Eggs in tomato sauce | about 290 per serving |
| Libyan shorba | Meat, chickpea and pasta soup | about 310 per bowl |
| Tripolitan chraime | Fish in spicy sauce | about 330 per serving |
| Tbecha bsilk | Chard, bean and meat stew | about 490 per serving |
| Mafrum | Stuffed potatoes | about 580 per serving of two pieces |
| Nokidess | Semolina dumplings with chicken | about 810 per serving |
| Tripolitan couscous | Couscous with lamb and vegetables | about 690 per serving |
| Arisa | Wheat and meat Sabbath stew | about 690 per serving |
| Bazin | Barley dough with lamb stew | about 1,020 per festive serving |
| Makroudh | Semolina and date cookie | about 215 per piece |
What defines Tripolitan flavor
- Fried tomato paste, not just diluted. Frying it in oil for two to three minutes caramelizes the sugars and removes the metallic taste. This is the step shared by chraime, shorba and arisa.
- Caraway instead of cumin. The two seeds look similar but taste different. In Libyan chraime, ground caraway is the signature; cumin alone gives a different sauce.
- Heat built in layers. Hot paprika, shatta chili and harissa are not all required together. Start with a little and adjust at the end, because the liquid reduces and the heat concentrates.
- A useful Italian influence. Nokidess are relatives of gnocchi, and the small pasta in shorba is not a random modern addition. Italian rule in Libya left pasta as a completely local staple.
- Fish and meat are not mixed. The recipes here are built according to Libyan Jewish cuisine and kashrut: chraime is a separate pot; the meat stews contain no dairy products.
An Israeli shopping list for this cuisine
| Ingredient | What to buy in Israel | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Harissa | Harissa paste in a jar or tube | Check the heat and salt before adding more |
| Caraway | Freshly ground seeds from a spice shop | It is not cumin and not nigella |
| Chard | Swiss chard, 4–5 bunches | In tbecha, “silk” means the leaves, not the red beet root |
| Pasta for shorba | Orzo, risoni or rice-shaped Israeli pasta | All are available in the chains; cooking time varies |
| Barley flour | Health food store or the specialty flour shelf | For bazin; don’t replace it all with white flour |
| Fish for chraime | Grouper, meagre, mullet or thick cod | Fresh, or frozen and thawed in the fridge |
A note on the calories
The calculation is done from the weight of the raw ingredients before cooking, divided by the stated number of servings. For frying oil, only the estimated amount absorbed is counted; in soups and stews, all the oil remaining in the pot is counted. That is why mafrum shows a clear range for frying, and bazin is defined as a large, festive serving and not as a weightless “ball.” A change in the fat percentage of the meat and the amount of oil can shift the result by 10%–20%.
Frequently asked questions
Question: Are Tripolitan and Libyan the same thing? Answer: Tripoli is the capital of Libya, but in Israel “Tripolitan” has become a catch-all name for the cuisine of Libyan Jews. There are family and regional differences, so there is no single version of each dish.
Question: Is all Tripolitan food spicy? Answer: No. Chraime and shorba are usually spicy, but couscous, nokidess and bazin can be well seasoned without burning. You can reduce the shatta and harissa without harming the structure of the recipe.
Question: What is the “silk” in tbecha bsilk? Answer: Leaf beet — Swiss chard — and not the purple beet root. Both the leaves and the tender part of the stems are used, and they are cooked until very dark.
Question: Which dishes are good for making ahead? Answer: Mafrum, tbecha bsilk, chraime and arisa improve after a night in the fridge. Nokidess are best eaten on the day they are made, and makroudh keeps in an airtight box for about two weeks.