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wide heavy pot, medium heat, until jammy and darkened

onion + neutral oil cooked to deep gold rather than translucent, + garlic, + chopped tomatoes + tomato paste + grated carrot, cooked down until the mixture pulls away from the pot floor and the paste turns from bright red to brick. Tomato paste straight from the tin tastes tinny and metallic; frying it in fat caramelises its sugars and cooks that off, and it is the single biggest difference between a kabsa base that tastes cooked and one that tastes canned. The carrot is not for texture — it dissolves entirely and adds sweetness against the sour lime