Osban (عصبان)
Sheep’s paunch filled with offal, rice and fresh herbs, then poached in a broth. The osban is prepared on the very day of the Eid al-Adha slaughter, from organs that cannot wait.
| Sheep’s liver, chopped | 150 g |
| Sheep’s heart, chopped | 100 g |
| Sheep’s lungs, chopped | 100 g |
| Round rice | 150 g |
| Cooked chickpeas | 100 g |
| Chopped onion | 80 g |
| Fresh parsley, chopped | 30 g |
| Dried mint | 5 g |
| Harissa | 15 g |
| Ground cumin | 5 g |
| Ground coriander | 3 g |
| Fine salt | 15 g |
| Olive oil | 50 ml |
| Cleaned sheep’s paunch | 1 |
- Cleaning the paunch: Rub the paunch with salt and flour. Rinse thoroughly. Blanch in boiling water for 10 minutes. Scrape and clean again.
- Preparing the offal: Blanch the liver, the heart and the lungs. Chop finely.
- Preparing the rice: Rinse the rice but do not cook it.
- Forcemeat: Mix the chopped offal, the raw rice, the chickpeas, the onion, the parsley, the mint, the harissa, the spices, the salt and the olive oil.
- Filling: Fill the paunch three-quarters full with the mixture (it will swell). Sew the opening with kitchen thread.
- Cooking: Prick lightly with a needle. Cook in a meat broth or in spiced water for 2 to 3 hours over gentle heat.
- Serving: Slice into thick rounds and serve hot, often with the cooking broth.
The osban is a preparation of sheep’s offal, stuffed into the animal’s stomach or large intestine, seasoned with fresh herbs, harissa and North African spices, then poached in a broth for several hours. In a region where pork is absent from charcuterie by religious prescription, the osban uses the sheep from end to end, transforming the offal into a codified preparation.
Its link to Eid al-Adha (the Feast of Sacrifice, commemorating Ibrahim’s gesture) is direct. The ritual slaughter of the sheep brings a sudden abundance of meat and offal (liver, lungs, heart, tripe, stomach) that must be transformed quickly. The osban was born of this constraint: stuffing the finely chopped offal into the sheep’s stomach or intestines, seasoning it, then cooking it promptly. It is a preparation of the very day of the slaughter, eaten in the family within the hours that follow.
The recipe varies by country. In Tunisia, the osban adds rice, fresh herbs (parsley, mint, coriander) and a substantial dose of harissa, which gives it its red colour and its heat. In Libya, the version is often drier and spicier, with cumin and caraway in larger proportions, and the osban is sometimes finished in the oven after poaching to develop a crisp skin. In Algeria, notably in the regions of Constantine and Tlemcen, the osban more closely resembles a white offal pudding, with fewer herbs and a more subtle seasoning dominated by cinnamon and ras el-hanout.
Stuffing into the sheep’s stomach (karcha in Maghrebi Arabic) gives the osban its voluminous form. Unlike the hog casings used in European charcuterie, the sheep’s stomach is thick and resistant, giving the preparation a gelatinous envelope after poaching. Some artisans use the large intestine (am’ane) for smaller, firmer versions.
For millions of Tunisian, Libyan and Algerian families, the osban is bound to the memory of Eid with the family. Its spread outside the Maghreb is limited to the diaspora communities of France, Belgium and Canada, where it is prepared at home for Eid al-Adha. It is absent from commercial catering outside the Maghreb.
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