Bissara is one of what I call "frugal recipes" in the Egyptian cuisine. This dish is economical, nutritious, and very easy to put together. Those of you who love falafel will most probably like this dish too.
Bissara
I've always thought that bissara is sort of falafel pudding.. seriously. Bissara has all the flavors and ingredients of the Egyptian falafel but in a thick dip form :). I did not really enjoy it alot when I was little, but if you have been following me for sometime you know I did not like 99.9% of food in this world when I was growing up.
When I first tried guacamole here in the United States, it reminded me so much of bissara. May be because they are both green!
Bessara or Bissara is a vegan recipe made with boiling split beans, onion, garlic and fresh herbs. I used to saute onion and garlic first then add the rest of the ingredients and boil until beans are tender. This time I just dumped everything for an easier recipe.
How to make bissara
- In a deep pot over medium high heat add soaked and drained beans, onion, garlic and fresh herbs.
- Add the cumin, dry mint, salt then pour in water to cover.
- Bring everything to a boil then simmer stirring occasionally. If it soaked up all the water feel free to add more, half a cup at a time.
- Keep cooking until the beans are very tender.
- Using your hand blender or an ordinary blender blend all the ingredients together until very smooth.
- Pour back into the pot and boil again.
- Check seasonings adding more salt, cumin and black pepper to taste.
- In a non stick skillet brown onions in some olive oil.
- Pour the Bissara mixture in serving plates and garnish with browned onions. Serve hot or cold.
How to eat bissara
Bissara can be served hot or cold and is eaten as a dip or scoop up with some pita bread for lunch or a meatless dinner. I also love to serve bissara with some diced tomato mixed with one crushed garlic clove and some salt and cumin. It is so delicious and goes very well with bissara.
Related Recipes
- Muhammara is a delicious Middle Eastern dip made from roasted red bell peppers, walnuts and some spices. Perfect for gatherings, as a snack or sandwich spread.
If you like this recipe do not forget to give it a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ star rating and attach a photo of your finished dish. It is always a pleasure of mine to see your photos and check your own take of the recipe. Thank you.
Bissara, fava beans dip
Ingredients
- 1 cup (180g) peeled and split fava beans, soaked in water for 1 hour.
- ½ cup (15g) fresh parsley, coarsely chopped.
- ½ cup (15g) fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped.
- ¼ cup (4g) fresh dill, coarsely chopped.
- 1 (90g) small onion, quartered.
- 3 (14g) garlic cloves.
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin.
- 1 teaspoon dry mint.
- 1 teaspoon salt or to your liking.
- 2-3 cups water.
- 1 medium onion chopped.
- ¼ cup Oil for frying onion.
- More cumin, salt and black pepper to taste for final seasoning.
Instructions
- In a deep pot over medium high heat add soaked and drained beans, onion, garlic and fresh herbs.
- Add the cumin, dry mint, salt then pour in water to cover.
- Bring everything to a boil then simmer stirring occasionally. If it soaked up all the water feel free to add more, half a cup at a time.
- Keep cooking until the beans are very tender.
- Using your hand blender or an ordinary blender blend all the ingredients together until very smooth.
- Pour back into the pot and boil again.
- Check seasonings adding more salt, cumin and black pepper to taste.
- In a non stick skillet brown onions in some olive oil.
- Pour the Bissara mixture in serving plates and garnish with browned onions. Serve hot or cold.
Neva
I had canned and whole Fava beans, but no split and peeled ones. Not wanting to wait to soak the beans, I peeled and split the canned ones. It was delicious! I’ll be purchasing the proper beans soon, as I’m also wanting to make your falafel!
I added cayenne, as I like spicy. Yum!!!
Mohan
Hello, Amira, I have made bissara a few times before, but today I am going to try your recipe, as it looks like a major upgrade to my recipe. One question: how do you get your fried onions to be so beautifully browned without burning? Whenever I fry onions like this, they either don't get past a light brown, or else they burn. What is your secret, if you don't mind sharing?
Amira
Mohan, thank you for your comment and I hope you will like it. For the onions, you need to keep stirring it every 1-2 minutes so it does not burn and you can also lower the heat so it won't burn easily. I hope this helps.
Sarah Kaldas
Hello Amira, for the fava beans, do you use canned or dry?
Amira
Hello Sarah, this one if the split fava beans. It is sold dry in most Mediterranean stores.
Abeer
Oh my Amira I've been looking for a good recipe that tastes like what my grandma used to make. This came out just like hers. My vegan friends liked it very mush.
Amira
Abeer, this is awesome. I am happy your friends liked it and it brought back good old memories.
JH
Tasted yummy, but came out liquidy for me. What do you think went wrong?
Christine Raouf
You may not add too much water at the begining as it easier to add if needed after blended.