Basilla wa rooz: Egyptian Pea Stew served with rice

Of all the recipes I have posted thus far, I can not believe I have not posted my basilla recipe.  For those of you unfamiliar with basilla, it is a big deal when mama makes basilla.  It is an all-time Egyptian favorite meal, made of fresh peas, tomato, onion, seasoning with big chunks of stew meat. It's something that's always in season and is extremely filling.  It's great on cool winter days or for breaking fast during Ramadan.

Basilla can be made either with or without meat, it won't effect the overall flavor at all, so it is a great vegetarian alternative.  It is generally served, like most stews in Egypt, with Egyptian rice (recipe in this link).

How basilla is made is basically the same throughout Egypt, with the exception of what spices are added.  Some regions traditionally just season it with onion, garlic, salt, and black pepper.  In addition, our family uses cumin and thyme as well.  Some regions, such as Sa'id use bay leaves instead of thyme while many families in Alexandria add chilli pepper as wells as cumin and thyme. You can definitely experiment with flavors to find what tastes best for your family.

I will be referencing the recipe I was taught, which does include cubed meat, though as I stated earlier, you can easily remove the meat for vegetarian recipes. Also note, traditionally basilla is made with fresh peas that you remove from the pod by hand.  You can also use frozen peas, which I do more often as I hate shucking peas.  Do not use canned peas as it will ruin the consistency and turn to mush.  Your peas should retain their shape and be only moderately soft when you finish cooking them.

Basilla wa rooz
Prep time: 25 minutes
Cook time: 2-3 hours
Servings: 4-6

Ingredients:

• 1 medium onion
• 1 tbsp butter (you can substitute for 1 tbsp oil)
• 4 cloves of garlic 
• 1 medium sized bag of frozen peas or 4 cups of fresh peas (no canned peas)
• 1 cup frozen diced carrots (optional)
• 1 medium tomato
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 5 cups of water
• 1 lb cubed meat or stew meat
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp dried crushed thyme
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Mince onion and garlic in a food processor. Heat butter in stock pot over low heat.  Cook onion and garlic until browned.
2. Add garlic and thyme. Mix with onion and garlic.  Cook over low heat for about 1 minute to release the flavors.
3. Add beef and brown on all sides.  
4. While beef is browning, dice tomato. 
5. When the beef is browned, add water, tomato, tomato paste, peas, and salt/pepper.  Bring to rapid boil and boil for about 15 minutes.
6. Reduce to simmer and cook for 2-3 hours until meat is tender and peas are moderately soft. Add more water as necessary. Be careful not to overcook it as the peas will turn to mush. Simmer sauce down to a thick consistency similar to that of beef stew. 
7. About 20 minutes before it is finished, start Egyptian rice. You can find the recipe here: RECIPE
8. Serve hot.