Bazelleh is one of the most delicious and popular dishes in Jordan, although its origins are not entirely clear and it is often thought to be a Lebanese dish. In any case, given the close relationship between Jordanian and Lebanese cuisine, and in general with that of the Mediterranean Levant, bazelleh can be considered a typically local delicacy. Also known as bazella, in this post we tell you what it contains, how it is cooked and why you should try it during your trip to this country, as you will find it easy to find in the restaurants of any city.
Ingredients of Bazelleh or Bazella
If you speak Arabic, you will quickly understand what the main ingredient of this dish is: peas, as bazelleh precisely means ‘pea’ in this language. And in this way, we also understand that this is the great difference with a very similar Jordanian dish: fasoliyeh, which uses the same ingredients but changing the peas for beans.
Bazelleh is mainly a stew that, in addition to peas, also uses grated or chopped carrot, chopped beef or lamb (in this case diced), sliced onion, crushed or chopped tomato and other ingredients that seek to enhance the flavor, such as spices (garlic, coriander) or ghee, which is a type of cow or buffalo butter. In addition, for the sofrito, butter is usually preferred instead of oil, although it all depends on each cook.
It is cooked in stages, starting with the sofrito of the vegetables and then the meat, to then cover everything with water and boil it over medium heat for half an hour or the time it needs to cook. Exceptionally, the peas and spices are usually added at the end, shortly before starting cooking. The final result, therefore, is not brothy but creamy, like a stew.
How Bazelleh is Presented
Like so many other dishes in Jordan, bazelleh is not eaten alone, but is accompanied by the star complement: rice. The white rice is cooked separately, and can be prepared alone or mixed with some other ingredient to make it more special, such as some chopped vegetables or even some type of noodle.
For the final presentation, it can be found in two different ways mainly, depending on each cook and restaurant. A very common way is to arrange a bed of rice as a base and pour a portion of the stew over it, in the center. The other common way is to make a mound of rice in the center with a bowl, and then sprinkle the stew around the mound. Of course, the dish can also be divided into two halves: one for the rice and one for the stew, which also tells us what the proportion of each component on the dish usually is.
In any case, it is worth remembering that some people prefer to increase the proportion of water, cut larger pieces of carrot and thus turn the stew into a brothy spoon dish, in that case without rice as an accompaniment.
In addition, it should be said that the vegan version of bazalleh is gaining a lot of popularity, as all that is required is to dispense with the beef or lamb. In that case, it is also necessary to dispense with the butter to eliminate any trace of animal protein in the dish. Beyond that, it does not require any other change, maintaining the flavor and texture of the original bazelleh.
Whatever the version cooked or chosen (brothy or not, with rice or without it, with meat or vegan), we are sure that trying the Jordanian bazelleh will be one of the best experiences of your trip.
