Peas Stew (Bazella) Recipe - Palestine In A Dish (2024)

This peas stew recipe also known asbazella w rizin Arabicor bazella stewis a hearty warm comfort dish, consisting of peas cooked with meat in tomato sauce.

Bazella or peas stew is a perfect meal for any weeknight. This recipe is not only your kids will love but also thewhole family.It’s a very easy dish to make withminimal ingredients.

Palestinian cuisineis full ofdelicious mealsand numerous stews. A stew consists of either tomato juice or meat stock base, a protein, and a main vegetable then served over a bed of rice. Just likecauliflower stew, spinach stew, asparagus stew,and the most popular fasolia (green bean stew) and mulukhiyah.

The Arabic word for a stew is yakhni or yakhneh. Stew is a dish of meat and vegetables cooked slowly in liquid in a closed dish or pan. All yakhnis are often served over abed of riceplain orvermicelli rice(ruz bil sh'iryeh).

My late dad used to plant bazella in our backyard, ready to be picked and unshelled in late spring-early summer, which is the season for fresh bazella. My sisters and I would help my mother unshelled the fresh peas, then my mother would work on packing them in zip bags, and then store them in the freezer to use throughout the winter season.

Frozen peas are available throughout the year at any grocery store. Whether you choose to use frozen or fresh, either wouldwork well with this recipe.

Thisgreen pea stewbazella recipeis agreat comfort food dishmade with peas as themain vegetable, and addedfresh carrots,with eitherbeef or lamb chunks, mincedor ground cooked intomato juiceserved over abed of white riceis considered aclassic middle eastern stewand can be a great addition for adinner party.

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Equipment

Pots - for cooking the meat and the vegetables.

Blender - for juicing fresh tomatoes.

Knife - for cutting carrots.

Cutting board - To cut carrots if fresh.

Ingredients

Full ingredients, measurements, and instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

• Sweet onion -I l like to use sweet onions with this dish they pair well with the meat.
• Green peas -fresh peasor frozen can work well with this recipe, I highly recommend non-sweet peas for a tastier flavor.
• Meat - lamb or beef, anymeateither chunks, minced, or ground works well.
• Carrots - are a great vegetable addition to this dish, and they pair well with peas.
• A blend of Spices-ground cinnamon, black pepper,allspice, and nutmeg gives a great flavor to the meat and the dish overall.
• Tomato juice - I prefer to use fresh tomato juice with this dish.

Instructions

Step 1 | In a pot heatolive oiland saute onions overmedium-high heatuntilgolden brown.

Step 2 | Add meat, spices, and salt, and integrate everything well together.

Step 3 | Continue to cook the meat until the meat is more brownish and fully cooked.

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Step 4 | Heat oil over medium heat in a separate pot, add peas and carrots, and sauté for about 7 minutes or until vegetables are softened.

Step 5 | Pour vegetables over meat and integrate them well together.

Step 6 | Pour in tomato sauce then stir in about one tablespoon of tomato paste, add salt and allspice, and integrate everything well together.

Step 7 | Let it simmer uncovered on low heat for 15-20 minutes.

Variationsand Substitutions

• You can add chopped potatoes in addition or instead of carrots.
• You can usebrown riceinstead of white rice.
• You can add bay leaf while cooking the meat.
• Vegetable stock or chicken broth can be mixed with tomato juice for a richer flavor.

Pro Tips

• Make sure to saute vegetables for about 5-7 minutes or until soften before adding tomato juice.
• If using fresh vegetables, carrots take longer to cook than peas so make sure to saute them for up to 7 minutes before adding peas.
• It's best to avoid cooking this dish with sweet peas, preferably use any other regular peas that are not sweet.
• If you use lamb chunks I recommend cooking them in a pressure cooker, as they take longer to cook in a regular pot.

Storage and Reheating

• Peas stew can be stored in anairtight containerin the fridge for up to 3 days.
• You can reheat peas stew in a small pan on the stovetop or in the microwave, add 1-2 tables spoons of water if it's too thick prior to heating.

FAQ

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