Daoud Bacha or historical meatballs

The ingredients needed for Daoud Bacha

One of the results of the French expedition of 1860 aimed at stopping the massacres of the time was the establishment by the Sublime Porte of a new regime, that of the Moutassarifat and the creation, in a way, official of Lebanon. One of the conditions was that the governor of Lebanon be a Christian citizen of the Ottoman Empire and the first of them was a certain Daoud Bacha, Armenian Catholic, born in 1816 in Istanbul and who will settle in Deir El Kamar. He left his post in 1868 before dying in Biarritz, France in 1873.

Unloved, however, because of heavy taxes, accused of being under English influence and because of various religious problems (already) – something that many seem to have forgotten today – Daoud Bacha will however leave his mark in Lebanon by the name that we will give to one of his favorite dishes, the Daoud Bacha precisely.

Daoud Bacha is a relatively easy dish to make. I propose here, a very personal interpretation, for 4 people. You will have to rely on:

• 700 grams of minced beef,
• a kilogram of tomatoes,
• an onion
• a handful of pine nuts
• spices and more particularly salt, pepper, paprika and cinnamon,
• along with rice as an accompaniment.

See the photo gallery

And enjoy your meal!

PS: I am not related to Daoud Bacha.