Lebanese Pea Stew with Rice (Bazella w Riz)
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Prep Time20 mins
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Cook Time70 mins
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Serving6
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Ready In90 mins
This pea stew with rice is a Lebanese classic comfort dish. The combination of peas, carrots and tender beef, and rice makes this a hearty and healthy meal for kids and adults combined.
Lebanese Yekhne
This Lebanese pea stew with rice (bazella w riz) is part of a tasty group of stews known in the Levantine region as a “yekhne.” These dishes, also known as ‘yakhni,’ are popular not only in Lebanon but all over the Middle East and Northern Africa. They’re basically a mix of veggies and protein, like beef or chicken, simmered in a tasty garlic tomato sauce and served on rice with noodles.
This stew is known in Arabic as yakhni or yekhne bazela, with bazela meaning “peas” in Arabic. Okra stew is one of my favorites, and made very similarly with beef cubes. There is also a potato stew that I love to make with chicken. All are always served with rice with vermicelli noodles.
How to make Yekhne/Yakhni Bazela
Making the Lebanese version of yekhne is pretty easy. Start by cooking crushed garlic and chopped cilantro in oil or ghee. Add your favorite veggies, in this case peas and carrots.
To create a tasty broth, just boil your chosen meat (beef, lamb, or chicken) with some flavorful aromatics, salt, and pepper. You then mix it with tomato sauce, and let it all simmer together.
For this peas and carrots stew, I like to use beef stew cubes (I like using beef shank). However, you can pick any beef cut you like. You can use meat with bones or without, depending on what you like. If you prefer chicken, go for it!
If you don’t want any meat, you can make it veggie/vegan by using vegetable broth instead of beef or chicken. I suggest using frozen peas—they’re better than canned ones in both color and taste.
In my ingredient list, I mention fresh carrots, but if you want to save time, you can use a bag of frozen peas and carrots together. This dish is so filling and tasty, making it perfect for families. It’s great for kids because it’s hearty and healthy with all those veggies.
STEP 1
Begin by boiling the beef. Add the beef to your pressure cooker along with enough water to cover the meat plus a few inches. Do not cover at this time. Boil for 10 minutes on high heat.
Throw away the first batch of water and rinse out the meat from excess fat. Add 6-8 cups of water to the beef along with whatever you typically use to boil meat. I like to add a half small onion, 1 large bay leaf, 1 cinnamon stick, a few cloves, 2 teaspoons of salt, and ½ teaspoon of black pepper.
Cover with lid and set the pressure cooker on the highest level over medium-high heat. Once the pressure cooker begins to whistle after 7-10 minutes, lower the heat to medium and set a timer for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, turn off heat and let pressure cooker release the steam.
Set aside with the fresh broth. **
STEP 2
Wash the fresh bunch of cilantro and cut off the stems. Finely chop and set aside.
STEP 3
Peel the garlic and cut in half or thirds. Place in a mortar and top with half teaspoon of salt. Crush garlic well.
STEP 4
Wash and peel the carrots. Dice into small ½ inch cubes. Set aside.
STEP 5
In a large deep pot, heat up 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Add chopped cilantro and crushed garlic and sauté over medium heat for 5 minutes.
Do not let the garlic burn.
STEP 6
Add diced carrots and sauté for an additional 3 minutes. Add 6 cups of the fresh beef broth along with ¼ cup of tomato paste. Mix until tomato paste has dissolved.
STEP 7
Lastly, add the dried coriander, salt and pepper. Taste for preference. Serve this pea stew with rice with vermicelli noodles.
Lebanese Pea Stew with Rice (Bazella w riz)
Ingredients
- 1 lb Beef Stew Cubes
- 1 lb Frozen Peas
- 3 Carrots 1.5 Cups Chopped
- 1 bunch Cilantro
- 8 cloves Garlic
- ¼ cup Tomato Paste
- 2 tb. Vegetable Oil
- 1½ tsp. Salt
- ½ tsp. Black Pepper
- ½ tsp. Ground Coriander
Instructions
- Begin by boiling the beef. Add the beef to your pressure cooker along with enough water to cover the meat plus a few inches. Do not cover at this time. Boil for 10 minutes on high heat. Throw away the first batch of water and rinse out the meat from excess fat. Add 6-8 cups of water to the beef along with whatever you typically use to boil meat. I like to add a half small onion, 1 large bay leaf, 1 cinnamon stick, a few cloves, 2 teaspoons of salt, and ½ teaspoon of black pepper. Cover with lid and set the pressure cooker on the highest level over medium-high heat. Once the pressure cooker begins to whistle after 7-10 minutes, lower the heat to medium and set a timer for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, turn off heat and let pressure cooker release the steam. Set aside with the fresh broth. **
- Wash the fresh bunch of cilantro and cut off the stems. Finely chop and set aside.
- Peel the garlic and cut in half or thirds. Place in a mortar and top with half teaspoon of salt. Crush garlic well.
- Wash and peel the carrots. Dice into small ½ inch cubes. Set aside.
- In a large deep pot, heat up 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Add chopped cilantro and crushed garlic and sauté over medium heat for 5 minutes. Do not let the garlic burn.
- Add diced carrots and sauté for an additional 3 minutes. Add 6 cups of the fresh beef broth along with ¼ cup of tomato paste. Mix until tomato paste has dissolved. Add the bag of frozen peas, and cooked beef cubes. Lower heat to medium-low and let simmer for 20 minutes.
- Lastly, add the dried coriander, salt and pepper. Taste for preference.
Rice
- Wash the rice with cold water until the water runs clear.
- Heat the vegetable oil in a deep pot over medium heat. Add the vermicelli noodles and cook until golden brown for 5 minutes. (Keep your eye on the noodles as they go from perfect o burnt in less than a minute!)
- Add the washed rice and mix together. Add the water and salt and mix until combined. Cook over medium heat until boiling.
- 1. Once the water begins boiling, reduce heat to low and cover with lid. Cook for 12-15 minutes until fluffy.
Notes
Nutrition
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