Moroccan hamin
Dafina is the hamin of Moroccan Jews: meat, chickpeas, potatoes and brown eggs, with spiced rice cooking in the same pot all night.
IllustrationDafina means "the buried one" in Arabic: the pot was buried in embers or put in the oven before Shabbat and only opened at noon. Skhina, its other name, means "the hot one".
What sets dafina apart: chickpeas instead of beans, whole eggs in their shells that come out brown, and spiced rice or wheat that cooks at the side of the pot, sometimes in a cloth bag, and takes on all the flavour of the meat.
The recipe
Ingredients
| The pot | |
| Beef shank | 1,000 g |
| Dry chickpeas, soaked overnight | 300 g |
| Potatoes | 450 g |
| Eggs in the shell | 6 |
| Rice | 185 g |
| Flavour | |
| Garlic | 8 g |
| Sweet paprika | 10 g |
| Turmeric | 3 g |
| Cumin | 3 g |
| Salt | 17 g |
| Boiling water | 1.5 l |
Method
- Soak the chickpeas overnight in cold water and drain.
- Lay the chickpeas at the bottom of the pot, the meat in large pieces on top, and whole potatoes around it.
- Season the rice with a little oil, turmeric and salt, and put it at the side of the pot or in a cooking bag.
- Nestle the eggs in their shells between the ingredients and add the garlic and spices.
- Cover with boiling water, bring to a boil, then move to an oven at 100 °C or a hotplate for about 12 hours without opening.
What goes in the pot, in grams
Both versions of dafina. Every ingredient by weight, by its share of the pot and by its share of the energy.
Dafina: beef, potatoes, chickpeas, rice and eggs3,802 g of ingredients · 132 kcal per 100 g cooked
| Ingredient | g | of pot | of energy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Water | 1,500 | 39% | 0% |
| Beef shank | 1,000 | 26% | 40% |
| Potatoes | 450 | 12% | 6% |
| Eggs | 342 | 9% | 12% |
| Dry chickpeas | 300 | 8% | 26% |
| White rice | 185 | 5% | 16% |
| Salt | 17 | 0% | 0% |
| Garlic | 8 | 0% | 0% |
Dafina with wheat: beef, potatoes, chickpeas, wheat and eggs3,747 g of ingredients · 127 kcal per 100 g cooked
| Ingredient | g | of pot | of energy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Water | 1,500 | 40% | 0% |
| Beef shank | 1,000 | 27% | 43% |
| Potatoes | 450 | 12% | 6% |
| Eggs | 342 | 9% | 12% |
| Dry chickpeas | 300 | 8% | 28% |
| Cracked whole wheat | 135 | 4% | 11% |
| Salt | 12 | 0% | 0% |
| Garlic | 8 | 0% | 0% |
Nutrition values of dafina
Per 100 g cooked
| Type | kcal | Protein, g | Fat, g | Carbs, g | Fibre, g |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dafina with rice | 132 | 9.8 | 4.9 | 10.6 | 2 |
| Dafina with wheat | 127 | 10.1 | 5 | 8.6 | 2.5 |
| Dafina with wheat, no oil and no eggs | 122 | 9.6 | 4.3 | 9.4 | 2.7 |
Moroccan hamin for any number of people
Change the number of people and the portion size, and every ingredient updates in grams, with the cost of the pot and the calories per portion.
| Ingredient | Amount | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| The pot | ||
| Beef shank | 1 kg | ₪100 |
| Dry chickpeas | 300 g | ₪5.0 |
| Potatoes | 450 g | ₪2.7 |
| Eggs in the shell | 360 g · 6 pcs | ₪8.7 |
| Rice | 185 g | ₪2.0 |
| Garlic | 8 g | ₪0.3 |
| Sweet paprika | 10 g | ₪0.9 |
| Turmeric | 3 g | ₪0.3 |
| Cumin | 3 g | ₪0.3 |
| Salt | 17 g | ₪0.0 |
| Water | 1.5 kg | |
Shelf prices at a large Israeli chain and specialty shops, October 2026. Nutrition from the ingredients in grams, before cooking.
What the ingredients of Moroccan hamin cost
What each ingredient costs in one pot, and where to buy it.
| Ingredient | Price | In this pot | Where to buy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beef shank | ₪100 per kg | ₪100 | Butcher |
| Eggs in the shell | ₪1.4 each | ₪8.7 | Supermarket |
| Dry chickpeas | ₪16 per kg | ₪5 | Supermarket |
| Potatoes | ₪5.9 per kg | ₪2.7 | Greengrocer |
| Rice | ₪11 per kg | ₪2 | Supermarket |
| Sweet paprika | ₪86 per kg | ₪0.9 | Supermarket |
| Garlic | ₪34 per kg | ₪0.3 | Greengrocer |
| Turmeric | ₪86 per kg | ₪0.3 | Supermarket |
| Cumin | ₪86 per kg | ₪0.3 | Supermarket |
| Salt | ₪2.1 per kg | ₪0 | Supermarket |
Shelf prices at a large Israeli chain and specialty shops, October 2026, VAT included. Vegetable prices change with the season.
Order Moroccan hamin for Shabbat
A ready pot for Shabbat, ordered by Wednesday 20:00.
- Cooked to order, for Shabbat or an event.
- Tell us how many people and when, and we send a quote.
- Delivery in Tel Aviv from ₪35, free over ₪750.
What goes in the pot
Where to buy meat and vegetables for the pot
Fresh meat from the butcher and vegetables from the greengrocer. Zoom in to see every shop’s name without a click.
In view now
Dafina for Shabbat
How many people, when and what budget. We send a proposal for group and office food.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between dafina and hamin?
Dafina is Moroccan hamin. It usually has chickpeas instead of beans, whole eggs in their shells, and rice or wheat cooking at the side of the pot.
Why are the eggs in dafina brown?
They cook in their shells all night in the sauce. The shell and the white turn brown and the yolk turns creamy.
What goes in the bag in dafina?
Spiced rice or wheat, and sometimes a large meatloaf. The bag keeps them whole and lets you serve them separately.
How many calories are in dafina?
100 g of cooked dafina with rice has 132 kcal and 9.8 g of protein.
How much does it cost to make Moroccan hamin at home?
A pot for 8 costs about ₪120 at Israeli shelf prices in October 2026, about ₪15 a person. A 450 g portion has about 480 kcal.
