Lebanese/Syrian Bazella
- 1 (16 ounce) bag frozen peas, any brand. Can also use good quality dry peas as well
- 1 large onion
- 1 (16 ounce) bag carrots, whole, not baby carrots
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste (Durra in the Middle East, I use Contadina)
- 14 cup olive oil
- 1 12 lbs beef stew meat, cubed lamb may be used as well
- salt and pepper, to taste
- season salt (optional)
- 6 cups water, in 2-cup increments
- 2 beef bouillon cubes (Maggi in the Middle East, I use Wylers)
- Cut onion in to small pieces.
- Do not mince or chop too finely, but at the same time, do not cut or chop too coarsely.
- Set aside.
- Wash carrots and cut them into 1/4" thick pieces.
- Basically, you don't want them too thin or they will disintegrate into the broth.
- You can peel them if you prefer, before cutting.
- Set aside.
- In a large frying pan, brown the meat with some seasoning salt and pepper.
- Add the onion and some olive oil from the bottle.
- Make sure all the meat is brown.
- Set aside.
- In a stew pan, fry the 3 tbsp of tomato paste in the 1/4 cup olive oil for about 5-8 minutes.
- If it seems dry-looking, add a small amount of extra oil at a time.
- It should look chunky in the oil, not runny like soup.
- Stir constantly, it will burn very fast!
- Reduce the heat, add first 2 cups of water.
- Stand back, it may spit at you!
- Keep adding until all 6 cups have been added.
- Add the soup cubes.
- Let this boil for 5 minutes.
- Scrape the bottom of the pan, making sure all of the tomato paste mixes in the water.
- Add the meat, carrots and peas.
- Allow to come to a boil (takes about 5 minutes) then reduce heat to a simmer.
- Add salt and pepper to your taste.
- Cook until meat is tender.
- Cooking time depends on the quality of meat.
- Serve with Middle Eastern rice.
- Extra water may be added to counter-act any saltiness or if too much evaporated out while cooking.
- Cooking times may vary depending on stove type.
- Just keep on eye on it and never walk away from cooking food!
- Stainless steel or a non-stick pan may be used.
- I prefer non-stick.
- This may also be transferred to a large crock pot and set on low.
- Yield depends on how much water is allowed to boil out, but pretty much it makes a lot!
- Count on leftovers if you're not having people over.
frozen peas, onion, carrots, tomato paste, olive oil, beef stew meat, salt, salt, water, beef bouillon cubes
Taken from www.food.com/recipe/lebanese-syrian-bazella-409391 (may not work)