This peas stew recipe also known as bazella w riz in Arabic or bazella stew is 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 the whole family. It’s a very easy dish to make with minimal ingredients.
Palestinian cuisine is full of delicious meals and 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 like cauliflower 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 a bed of rice plain or vermicelli 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 would work well with this recipe.
This green pea stew bazella recipe is a great comfort food dish made with peas as the main vegetable, and added fresh carrots, with either beef or lamb chunks, minced or ground cooked in tomato juice served over a bed of white rice is considered a classic middle eastern stew and can be a great addition for a dinner 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 peas or frozen can work well with this recipe, I highly recommend non-sweet peas for a tastier flavor.
- Meat - lamb or beef, any meat either 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 heat olive oil and saute onions over medium-high heat until golden 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.
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.
Variations and Substitutions
- You can add chopped potatoes in addition or instead of carrots.
- You can use brown rice instead 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 an airtight container in 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
You can certainly make this dish vegan by skipping step 2.
No. You can add the frozen peas directly to the pan and saute with oil.
No, you can use frozen or any other ready-made.
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Pea Stew (bazella)
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 30
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 4 Servings 1x
- Category: Entree
- Method: Stove
- Cuisine: Middle Eastern
- Diet: Diabetic
Description
This peas stew recipe or also known as bazella w riz in Arabic or bazella stew is a hearty warm comfort dish consisting of peas cooked with meat in tomato sauce.
Ingredients
- 1 small chopped onion
- 1 pound, chunks minced or ground lamb or beef
- A pinch of cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg for the meat
- 3 tablespoons neutral oil (divided)
- 1 pound (about 2 cups) of fresh or frozen peas
- 2 carrots chopped (optional), fresh or frozen.
- 3 cups fresh tomato sauce (about 4 medium size ripe tomatoes) blended with ½ cup of water.
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste.
- 1 teaspoon allspice.
- 1 teaspoon sea salt (adjust to taste).
Instructions
- In a pot heat oil and sauté one small chopped onion over medium-high heat until golden brown.
- Add meat over sauteed onios, add spices and salt. Integrate everything well together and continue sautéing until the meat is more brownish and fully cooked.
- Meanwhile, in a separate pot, heat oil over medium-high then add carrots and peas, sauté for about 7 minutes, or until lightly softened.
- Bring vegetables over cooked meat, and integrate everything well together.
- Pour tomato sauce over the mix, then add salt and allspice.
- Mix tomato paste with ½ cup of hot water to liquidate, then add over mix.
- Stir everything well together and let it simmer uncovered on low heat for about 15-20 minutes.
Notes
- 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.
Nele says
Such a wonderful dish and recipe, brings back beautiful memories from winter in the Middle East.
Wafa Shami says
Great. Glad you liked it.
Brett Cumberledge says
So I made the recipe but my store only had frozen sweet peas. It taste really good but are there garnishes or other condiments that go with it? It seems like it needs something, please don’t be offended I’m just curious. Thank you
Wafa Shami says
Hello Nele, thank you for trying the recipe. No offense taken at all! I usually serve this dish with sides like radishes, cucumber pickles, olives, or bell peppers. I hope that helps.
Lilo says
Delicious! Thank you so much for sharing this beautiful recipe. It will become a staple!
Wafa Shami says
You are welcome. I'm glad you liked it.
Lauren says
Delicious recipe! I made it for the first time and I love the peas, carrots, and tomato flavor. I blended the tomatoes with chicken stock as suggested and the dish had a lot of body and roundness to it. I love the spices and I’m really happy to learn new recipes. The recipe and ingredients are simple and easy to find, as well as having a quick cook time. I’m very excited to share this dish with my friends who like tomatoes and peas. I would definitely recommended and cook again!
Wafa Shami says
Hi Lauren, so glad to hear that you enjoyed this recipe, I hope your friends will enjoy it just as much. Thanks for the feedback.
Ryan says
Really good. Thank you.
Wafa Shami says
Hi Ryan, thanks for the review, glad to hear that.