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Egyptian

Bessara (Egyptian green fava bean and herb dip)

Vegetarian

بصارة · biṣāra

Skinless split fava beans cooked with onion and garlic, then blended with dill, parsley, coriander and spices into a thick, herb-green purée and topped with crisp fried onions. Egypt's thrifty dip, quite different from soupy Moroccan bissara.

Bessara (Egyptian green fava bean and herb dip) is an Egyptian dip, ready in about 1 hour 15 minutes and made with fava beans (dried), dill and parsley. It serves 6 and is rated easy to cook.

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Prep
15 min
Cook
1 h
Total
1 h 15 min
Serves
6
Level
Easy
Calories
225

Plus 8 hours soaking the beans.

Ingredients

6 servings (about 140 g)

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Drain and rinse the soaked fava beans (opens in a new tab), picking out any bits of skin.

  2. Step 2

    Put the beans, the 100 g chopped onion (opens in a new tab), the garlic (opens in a new tab) and the water in a saucepan (opens in a new tab). Bring to the boil over high heat and skim off the foam.

  3. Step 3

    Simmer, partly covered, for 35–45 minutes, stirring now and then, until the beans collapse completely and most of the water is absorbed. Add the dill (opens in a new tab), parsley (opens in a new tab) and coriander for the last 3 minutes, just long enough to wilt them and keep them green.

  4. Step 4

    Meanwhile, fry the sliced onions (opens in a new tab) in the oil in a frying pan over medium heat, stirring often, for 12–15 minutes until deep golden and crisp. Lift out with a slotted spoon (opens in a new tab) onto kitchen paper and keep the oil.

    Lower the heat once they turn pale gold; they go from golden to burnt quickly.

    Onions frying golden in a pan
    How it looks · Photo: Magda Ehlers on Pexels

  5. Step 5

    Add the cumin, ground coriander (opens in a new tab), dried mint (opens in a new tab), cayenne and salt to the beans and blend until smooth and bright green. It should be thick and spoonable, like soft mashed potato; add hot water if needed, because it sets as it cools. Stir in the lemon juice (opens in a new tab) and taste.

    Food safety: Blend hot purées in batches with the lid vented and a towel held over it; trapped steam can blow the lid off.

  6. Step 6

    Spread on plates, warm or at room temperature, and top with the crisp onions (opens in a new tab) and a spoonful of their oil.

    • 2 min

About this dish

Origin
Egypt · Commonly attributedAn everyday Egyptian dish of the countryside and Cairo cafés. Claims of pharaonic origins are often repeated but not well documented. Herb mixes vary: some cooks add molokhia (jute mallow) leaves or leeks. The site's existing bissara recipe is the Moroccan soup, which is a different preparation.More food from Egypt
Dish
Breakfast · Lunch · Dinner · Dips & spreads
Cooking method
Simmered, Blended, Pan-fried
Taste
herby, earthy, creamy, savoury
Diet
Vegan · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · Low-carb · High-protein · High-fibre
All labelsVegan · Plant-based · Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Ovo-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Mediterranean-style · Low-carb · High-protein · High-fibre · DASH-style · Carb-conscious
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Budget-friendly · Make-ahead
Cook more with
Fava beans (dried) · Dill · Parsley · Coriander leaves · Onion · Garlic
Techniques
Pan-frying · Boiling · Simmering · Wet grinding · Emulsification

Allergens

None of the 14 major allergens appear in the listed ingredients.

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

225 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 142 g · recipe makes 6

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 21%
  • Carbohydrate 52%
  • Fat 28%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g
Energy225 kcal159 kcal
Protein12 g8.5 g
Carbohydrate30.3 g21.4 g
Net carbohydrate18.5 g13.1 g
Sugars4.3 g3 g
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre11.8 g8.3 g
Fat7.2 g5.1 g
Saturated fat0.6 g0.4 g
Trans fat0 g0 g
Cholesterol0 mg0 mg
Sodium407 mg287 mg
Salt equivalent1 g0.7 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
609 mg
Calcium
99 mg
Iron
3.9 mg
Magnesium
97 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
56 µg
Vitamin C
16 mg
Vitamin D
0 µg
Vitamin B12
0 µg
Folate (DFE)
200 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: dried mint, lemon juice.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Add the herbs at the end; long cooking turns bessara khaki.
  • The onion-frying oil is full of flavour; drizzle it over the top instead of olive oil.

Common mistakes

  • Using whole fava beans with skins, which makes the purée grainy and bitter.
  • Serving it too thick once cold; loosen with hot water and stir well.

Serve with

  • With Egyptian baladi bread, raw onion, pickles and tomatoes for breakfast, alongside ful medames and ta'ameya.
  • As a dip on a meze table.

Storage

  • Refrigerate in a covered container for up to 3 days; keep the fried onions separately in an airtight container. It sets firm; loosen with hot water.

Reheating

  • Serve at room temperature, or warm gently with a splash of water.

Variations

  • With molokhia (Egypt): A handful of chopped jute mallow leaves is cooked with the beans for a deeper green and silkier texture.
  • Moroccan bissara (Morocco): A soupier, cumin-and-olive-oil version without herbs; see the separate bissara recipe.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

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Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

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Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in steps 1, 2

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