Bajela Fava Beans
Fully cooked fava beans and broth over flatbread with a firm-cooked egg, culinary mint and divided ghee.
Preparation: 15 min · Cooking: 2 hr · Total: 26 hr 30 min · 2 servings
Ingredients
- 240 ml dried whole broad/fava beans, measured before soaking
- 960 ml initial fresh bean-cooking water
- ready-to-eat Iraqi flatbreads, torn — 2
- 30 ml ghee total, 5 ml egg pan + 25 ml finishing
- 1 tbsp commercial food-grade dried culinary mint
- egg — 1 — For the half batch use half a beaten egg by its actual shelled weight, not a rounded-up whole egg.
- salt to taste
- soaking/rinsing water, discarded
- extra hot cooking water if needed for coverage (optional)
Instructions
Prepare safely
Measure 240 ml beans while dry, not after soaking. People advised to avoid fava beans because of G6PD deficiency should avoid this dish; cooking is not claimed to remove that restriction.
People advised to avoid fava beans because of G6PD deficiency should avoid this dish; cooking is not claimed to remove that restriction.
Soak under refrigeration
Rinse and soak as the bean package directs, keeping the supplied 24-hour interval in the refrigerator at ≤4°C. Soaking water is separate from the measured cooking water.
Soaking water is separate from the measured cooking water.
Soak under refrigeration: 86400 seconds
Drain carefully
Discard soaking/rinsing water and place drained beans in a suitable pot with 960 ml fresh cooking water. Add conditional extra hot cooking water if needed to maintain coverage.
Add conditional extra hot cooking water if needed to maintain coverage.
Simmer and check
Bring to a boil, then simmer gently with an ordinary lid; begin tenderness checks around 2 hours and continue until every bean is completely soft, following package directions. Never let the pan boil dry.
Never let the pan boil dry.
Simmer and check: 7200 seconds
Add the aromatics
Add salt to taste during roughly the last 10 minutes within the simmer phase. Reserve the actual hot bean broth for assembly; 960 ml is the initial input, not a guaranteed remaining yield.
Reserve the actual hot bean broth for assembly; 960 ml is the initial input, not a guaranteed remaining yield.
Assemble the dish
Place the 2 torn ready-to-eat flatbreads in a shallow heat-compatible serving dish. Add enough hot bean broth gradually to soak them, guarding against splashes; do not pour the entire pot automatically.
Add enough hot bean broth gradually to soak them, guarding against splashes; do not pour the entire pot automatically.
Assemble the dish
Spoon all the tender beans over the soaked bread in 2 shared portions. Keep any surplus broth separate rather than claim every ml must be eaten.
Keep any surplus broth separate rather than claim every ml must be eaten.
Heat gently
Reserve the 30 ml ghee as 5 ml for a suitable egg pan and 25 ml finishing. Heat only the 5 ml egg-pan portion over medium-low heat without smoking.
Heat only the 5 ml egg-pan portion over medium-low heat without smoking.
Check doneness
Cook the 1 egg until both white and yolk are fully firm, not runny, then share over the two portions. Half uses half of a beaten egg by actual shelled weight, cooked as a fully set small layer.
Half uses half of a beaten egg by actual shelled weight, cooked as a fully set small layer.
Finish and check
Scatter the 1 tbsp culinary mint over the dish. Warm the reserved 25 ml ghee only until fluid/hot, never smoking, and spoon over carefully; do not require a loud sizzle.
Warm the reserved 25 ml ghee only until fluid/hot, never smoking, and spoon over carefully; do not require a loud sizzle.
Measure the ingredients
Half uses 120 ml dry beans, 480 ml initial water, 1 bread and 0.5 egg, with ghee 2.5 + 12.5 ml. For 8 servings use 960 ml dry beans, 3840 ml initial water, 8 breads, 4 eggs and ghee 20 + 100 ml. Use food-grade commercial mint, not unidentified wild plants.
Use food-grade commercial mint, not unidentified wild plants.
Serve and store
Serve 2 portions promptly once safe to eat, not scalding. Refrigerate shallow leftovers within 1 hour at ≤4°C, use within 24 hours and reheat at most once to 74°C throughout.
Refrigerate shallow leftovers within 1 hour at ≤4°C, use within 24 hours and reheat at most once to 74°C throughout.
Tips
- Instructions describe the base 2-serving batch. Controls scale the ingredient list to 1 or 8 servings, exactly half or fourfold. One cup is 240 ml, one tbsp 15 ml, one tsp 5 ml; dry volumes are not gram weights. Use equivalent vessels and manageable batches; timers are first checks, not linear cooking rules.
Common mistakes
- Do not add unlisted fat, liquid or garnishes or rely on a fixed time or browned surface alone.
Substitutions
- Keep the stated source states and explicit alternatives; check product instructions and allergens.
Storage
Refrigerate promptly in shallow portions within 1 hour at ≤4°C; use within 24 hours from preparation, including cooling. This is a conservative household limit, not a validated shelf life.
Reheating
Reheat leftovers at most once to 74°C throughout and serve promptly; keep unused portions refrigerated.
About this recipe
Fully cooked fava beans and broth over flatbread with a firm-cooked egg, culinary mint and divided ghee.
Editorial approval does not establish independent kitchen testing. Check allergens and follow safe food handling.