Egypt's peas'n beef with rice in tomato sauce (Basila wa roz)

Today will be one of my favourite stews: peas and beef. It's commonly known as basila whey roz = peas and rice. Appropriately named. It's a very popular family meal; though you'll rarely see it in a restaurant. It doesn't exactly scream haute-cuisine. 

When I meet other Canadian-Egyptians, a few things immediately bond us: no Arabic, bastarma (cured beef) and basila whey roz. It's just one of those staple dishes we all grew up eating and never thought twice about. 

To my father's credit, he even mastered it and was able to add that to his repertoire of home-cooked meals. That's a total of two. He then went on to learn how to cook a whole turkey in the microwave. I don't count that as meal #3 and neither should anyone else. Microwaves don't count as cooking. Although between his version and my mother's version of this meal, I kind of like his a bit better...sorry...Not because hers is not good; it's great! 

The difference lies in what makes up the liquid portion of the stew. My mom uses fresh chicken stock and my dad uses water. I like the water because it lets the flavour of the tomato come through better. But it's a personal preference. The tomato-base stew is nearly identical to that in bamya; except my version will use water and not chicken stock and there is no garlic. 

Peas are no stranger to Egypt

The tomato-based stew is popular all throughout the Middle East, even though, as I've mentioned before, tomatoes were introduced to the area in the 1800s. Nonetheless, tomato-based stews reign supreme throughout the area. 

Peas and rice, on the other hand, have been staples for centuries. Green peas originate from the Mediterranean basin and the Near East. One article I read said peas may either originate from China or Egypt, since they have been in artefacts in both places. 

In Egypt, the charred remains of peas were found in Egyptian tombs from the 12th dynasty (1991-1783 BC). They were also found in the Nile Delta region dating 4400-4800 BC and in Upper Egypt from 3800-3600 BC. 

So the green pea is no stranger to Egyptian cooking; but apparently it was never as popular as lentils. Instead, peas were dried and used during times of famine, which is how some other cultures also depended on them, like the European explorers who set off for the new world. 

Rice....new addition

 Rice made its appearance in Egypt around 4th century BC. At the time, India was exporting rice to Greece, which is probably how it made its way down to Egypt. With the fertile farming land in the Nile Delta, growing rice was easy enough. It's still grown in that area today. So with peas and rice being in the area for so long, it's no wonder they got together in a stew. 

Add some protein, in this case beef, and you have the makings for a hearty stew. The flavouring of the tomato base is really where the beef gets its taste. For fun, I decided to buy a jar of ghee (clarified butter) the other day. 

In Egypt, most of the cooking is done using this which is why most of the meals are super heavy, but tasty. While I never eat ghee; I figured I'd get wild today and trade in the olive oil for some ghee. Woop woop!  

RECIPE

Total Cooking Time: 2 hours-though could be longer depending on cut of meat

Yield: 4 persons 

INGREDIENTS 

1 tablespoon of olive oil (or butter) 

1 white onion 

1 lb. (0.5kg) of cubed beef (or lamb) 

2 cans of tomato paste 

2 cups of water 

2 cups of green peas (can be fresh or frozen)

1 cinnamon stick

2-3 grains of allspice (or 1 tsp of ground allspice)

1 cup of rice 

2 cups of water

1 teaspoon of butter salt to taste

1 tablespoon of pine nuts (optional)

DIRECTIONS 

1. Dice onions 

2. In a stewing pot, heat oil and fry onions 

3. When onions are soft, add beef 

4. Brown beef for a few minutes until everything is seared on the outside 

5. Add tomato paste, water, cinnamon, and ground allspice

6. Salt and pepper to taste 

7. Let stew cook for about an hour or more; until meat is tender 

8. Make rice (click here for instructions)

8. When meat is tender, add peas 

9. Let cook for another 15 minutes 

10. Dry roast pine nuts in a hot pan until they turn golden.

11. Serve on rice with fresh green onions or sliced onions in lemon juice (or white vinegar) and salt 

12. Add pine nuts as garnish.

Let me just start off by saying that today was my first time cooking with ghee and it will be my last time. The smell of it made me want to spread bleach all over the kitchen to overpower the stench of rancid ghee. Lesson #1 learned: do not buy ghee from the local grocery store that has a dusty ethnic food section. Lesson #2: leave the ghee alone. Horrible, horrible stuff. But that aside, the final dish is still yummy though; especially when made with non-ghee fats.