Vegetarian Lebanese Stew with Peas and Rice (Bazelle with Riz) for #Food of the World

For this month's Food of the World event, we are going to Lebanon. While browsing through the internet for vegetarian Lebanese dishes, I landed on this page with a ton of recipes to choose from. I finally narrowed the whole list down to about 10 dishes, but more than half of them were desserts and I had to resist the temptation of making those rich and creamy desserts. I have them bookmarked and will pace them out and try them in the future.

At the end, I made this vegetarian version of Lebanese Stew with Peas. Traditionally this dish is made with beef or lamb mince. I used soy granules/ TVP instead. The highlight of the dish is the Baharat spice blend that is added to the stew. It is a mix of ground spices and it adds a nice warmth and lot of flavor to the dish.

Lebanese stew is served with a simple vermicelli laced rice pilaf. Cooking the pilaf in butter and olive oil gives it a nice buttery flavor that goes very well with the stew. I made it for lunch on a cold day and it was very hearty and filling.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients: Serves 4

Soy granules - 1cup

Onion - 1 medium, finely chopped

Garlic - 3cloves, finely minced

Carrot - 2 medium, peeled & chopped
Green Peas - 1cup, thawed if frozen

Tomato paste - 2tbsp
Salt - to taste

Baharat Spices:
Ground Allspice - ½tsp
Ground Pepper - ¼tsp
Ground Cumin - ¼tsp
Ground Coriander - ¼tsp
Ground Cinnamon - ¼tsp
Ground Nutmeg - ¼tsp

Method:

• Combine all the ingredients for the Baharat spices in a small bowl and mix well.
• Add 2cups of hot water to soy granules and set aside for 10~15 minutes. Drain and squeeze the excess water and keep aside.
• Heat 2tsp olive oil and 2tsp butter in a pan. Add onions, garlic and carrots to the pan and saute till onions are lightly browned around edges.
• Add the baharat spice mix and mix well to combine.
• Next add the drained soy granules and saute till lightly browned, about 3~4 minutes.
• Stir in tomato paste, salt and 1½~2cups of veggie stock (or water). Bring the mixture to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 8~10 minutes for all the flavors to mingle. 
• Finally stir in the green peas and simmer for 2~3 minutes to heat them through. Serve hot with rice.

Rice Pilaf with Vermicelli:
Ingredients:
Rice - 1cup, rinsed and drained
Vermicelli - ½cup, broken
Salt - to taste

Method:

• Heat 2tsp olive oil & 1tsp butter in a heavy bottomed saucepan. Add the broken vermicelli and cook till it turns golden, about 3~4 minutes.
• Next stir in the rice, 2½cups of water and salt. Bring the mixture to a boil, lower the heat, cover and simmer for 15~18 minutes or until all the water is absorbed and the rice & vermicelli are cooked through. Let sit for 5 minutes before digging in.

Please visit our cohosts blogs and follow their sites! 

Diane: http://www.simplelivingeating.com 

Adelina: http://www.homemaidsimple.com 

Shey: http://justnotthecakes.blogspot.com 

Lisa: http://cookingwithcurls.com 

Mireille: http://www.eastwestrealm.com 

Usha: http://www.myspicykitchen.net

Pavani: http://www.cookshideout.com

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