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Friday, October 19, 2012

211. White Bean Stew/Maraq Fasoulia


White bean stew, or marqa fasoulia bayda (مرقة فاصولية بيضة), is another popular stew in Iraq, although the bamia trumps it in popularity.
The basis of the stew is similar, yet slightly different from bamia, and the beans lend it an altogether different taste. Whee the bamia uses garlic, this stew uses onion.

The dried beans ought be soaked in plenty water overnight before cooking.
You may add or subtract according to taste the chili and lemon juice.



Ingredients:

1 Tbsp ghee
1 kg meat on bone
2 bay leaves
2 cups dry white beans
2 small onions
1 can tomato
3 Tbsp tomato paste
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 lemons, juice


Method:

Cover the dried white beans in water and let soak overnight.
Heat the ghee or oil in a large pot.
Sear the meat on both sides until well browned.
Add the bay leaves and the chopped or sliced onion, and enough boiled water to cover the meat by an inch.
Cover and let simmer over medium low heat for 1 1/2 hours.
Add the drained beans and return to simmer covered for an additional 1 hour, adding some boiled water if too thick or drying out.
Add the tomato can, tomato paste, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and chili, simmer an additional 10 to 15 minutes.
At this point you may either serve it with some rice, or let it cool completely, refrigerate overnight, then re-heat when ready to serve.
The flavors merge and intensify overnight, just be careful when reheating and stirring to not break up and mash the beans.



 صحة و عافية

13 comments:

  1. Dear Maryam,
    Thank you very much for all your wonderful recipes. I made this stew with chicken and it turned out great.
    R

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    1. Thanks R, I really appreciate that. I'm glad it worked out, most marags can be made with chicken instead of meat. Well done!

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  2. May Allah bless you Maryam! Your blog is my go-to for every type of recipe, but my husband is Iraqi and feels so happy when I cook Iraqi recipes that taste similar to his mom's (though he would never say better, LOL). He always asks how where I got the authentic recipes and I say "from my friend Maryam". Thank you soo so so much for all the wonderful recipes, they are easy to follow and I have never been disappointed with the 15+ I have tried. Can't wait to try more inshaAllah! <3 Michaela

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    Replies
    1. And may Allah bless you too my friend and sister. Thanks for your sweet words and wish you many more successful recipes!

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  3. In Baghdad yabseh is a staple because bamia (okra) could get expensive. My two cents: There's no chilli or black pepper in yabseh (bean tomato stew) . And no basil either. You've turned it into some sort of American baked beans, it's not a bad recipe but far from the original which is much simpler. I'll still eat yours with some fluffy tortillas and Cajun fried rice, it does look delicious and could pass for Tex Mex.

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    1. I think you mis-read bay leaves for basil. No basil here. The addition of chili and black pepper hardly qualify as texmex (paprika, cumin, coriander, cilantro...) and are optional to households who hold a preference to some heat in their stew. Barring the heat element, the stew is as authentic as an Iraqi marga yabsa gets. But thanks anyway for your 2 cents.

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    2. This recipe (and spices) is similar to how my Baghdadi mother always cooks it, so I can safely assure everyone any allegations of Tex-Mex inspiration are unfounded. Keep up the good work, Maryam!

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  4. Thank you so much for posting so many Iraqi recipes, my mother in law loves that I can cook but now I can cook Iraqi Food to surprise her she will love it so much :) thank you xoxo

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  5. Thank you for posting this recipe. I made it a few times and it turned out great. I I just recently got Ninja foodie multi cooker (learning to use it) and wonder how would I cook it using that cooker? (Timing). Would appreciate any suggestions you may have. Thanks!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for taking the time to feedback; I'm glad it worked out well. Unfortunately I've never used this appliance so I do not have an insight to share.

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    2. It’s like a insta pot/pressure cooker.

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    3. Heard and seen al lot about it, but never used it. Apparently it cuts down on cooking time drastically. Congratulations on your new purchase.

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