Dawood Basha is a middle eastern meatball stew made with cubes of tender potatoes and peas, simmered in a flavourful tomato sauce. It can’t really get better than that! Serve it with a side of vermicelli rice and you have yourself the perfect comfort meal.

middle eastern meatball stew with peas and potato served with a side of bread

Want to Save This Recipe?

Enter your email & I’ll send it to your inbox. Plus, get great new recipes from me every week!

Save Post

By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from Hungry Paprikas.

Table of Contents show

What is Dawood Basha?

Dawood Basha is a dish from Syria and Lebanon that is apparently named after a famous “basha” which is from the Turkish “pasha” and is a title given to certain status figures, similar to Lord or Sir. It’s basically a Middle Eastern meatballs stew that can be made with just meatballs or with added vegetables, you can consider it as the stew sister of Eggplant Casserole with similar vegetables and flavour.

It is typically served over vermicelli rice (highly recommend this combination) and enjoyed as a comforting dinner.

What makes Dawood Basha SO good is that the meatballs are seasoned with middle eastern spices, and then the stew is also layered with flavour from the onions, garlic and the peas and potatoes.

Everything is simmered in a tomato sauce flavoured with seven spice and pomegranate molasses, and the result is just the most comforting dish you’ll have. I love serving it with rice, or you can even enjoy it with some bread.

If you want a quick shortcut to making this dish, you can make it using a frozen batch of my juicy baked kofta meatballs, which is a dinner I often make in about 30 minutes.

Ingredients you’ll need

You’ll need simple ingredients to make this meatball stew:

  • Ground beef; I use either regular or lean
  • Parsley; this is added into the meatballs for extra flavour
  • Onions
  • Potatoes
  • Peas
  • Spices; I love using seven spice (a Lebanese spice mix that you can also swap out for allspice), garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper
  • Tomato paste to make the base of the sauce
  • Pomegranate molasses which is a common middle eastern ingredient that has sweetness and a lovely tartness
  • Vegetable broth, or you can use chicken broth or just water will be fine too

How to make this recipe

  • You start off by mixing together the meatball ingredients and shaping them into evenly sized balls. Then they get seared in a large deep skillet on all sides until brown.
  • Next, cook the diced onions until translucent with some salt to help soften them, then add in the potato cubes.

Tip: Make sure the potatoes are chopped into small to medium sized cubes so they don’t take too long to cook.

  • Then add in the crushed garlic, tomato paste and the spices and allow them to cook for a few minutes until the garlic is fragrant.
process for making a middle eastern meatball stew
  • Next, add in the vegetable broth along with the frozen peas and mix together well. Then add the meatballs back into the skillet, cover and allow the stew to simmer for about 25 minutes until the potatoes are soft.
process for making a middle eastern meatball stew
  • After about 25 minutes, check for seasoning. I usually balance the salt if required and add a pinch of sugar if the stew is too tart. And you’re done! Serve with a side of rice and enjoy.
dawood basha Meatball stew with peas and potato served in a pot

Other Stew Recipes You Will Enjoy

A white bowl with spinach stew with spinach, chickpeas and ground beef beside rice with a fork, a lemon wedge and parsley on top with a small bowl of parsley at the side, a green water glass and a small bowl of lemon wedges on a red and brown patterned table cloth.

Quick Spinach Stew (With Chickpeas & Beef)
4.67 from 6 ratings
Chicken stew with carrots, whole green olives, bay leaves in a white pot with a spoon in it, a blue plate with pita, a blue pate with the ends of spoons, a small blue bowl with chopped parsley on a blue tile background.

Tajine Zitoune (Chicken & Green Olives Stew)
5 from 3 ratings
Veal stew with peas and carrots in a green bowl with white rice and parsley on top with a fork, with a white pot of it at the side, a white and black striped tea towel and a small bowl of parsley on a beige marble background.

Easy Bazella (Peas & Carrots Stew)
5 from 3 ratings
green bean stew with veal in a silver handled pot on a blue patterned tablecloth with rice in a blue plate and green onions and parsley on a light coloured plate on a beige marble background

Green Bean Stew (Instant Pot & Stove-Top)
5 from 1 rating

If you tried these recipes, please consider leaving a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page – I’d love to hear from you! You can also hop on over to Instagram and say hello!

Meatball stew with peas and potato served in a pot
4.96 from 22 ratings

Dawood Basha (Middle Eastern Meatballs Stew)

Yield: 6 servings
Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 40 minutes
Author: Amina Al-Saigh
A middle eastern meatballs stew made of spiced meatballs, potato cubes and peas simmered in a delicious tomato sauce. It's a comfort dish that is packed with flavour, and typically served with some vermicelli rice. So good!
Print Leave a Review Pin Recipe

Ingredients
 

For the Meatballs:

  • 1 kg ground beef, (regular or lean)
  • 1 tablespoon onion powder, (or use half an onion, grated)
  • 1 tablespoon garlic powder
  • 2 teaspoons seven spice, (or replace with allspice)
  • 1.25 teaspoons salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses
  • 1 cup parsley, finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

For the rest of the ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 large onion, white
  • 800 grams potatoes, roughly 3 medium ones
  • 2 cups frozen green peas
  • 1.5 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cloves garlic, large
  • 4 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1 teaspoon seven spice, (or use allspice)
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1.5 cups vegetable broth, or chicken broth, or water
  • 1/2 tablespoon pomegranate molasses
  • 1 pinch sugar

Instructions
 

For the Meatballs:

  • Mix together the ground meat, all the spices, pomegranate molasses, and parsley really well using your hands
  • Shape into medium sized meatballs, ensuring they are all roughly the same size
  • In a deep large skillet with a lid, add the vegetable oil and sear the meatballs on all sides on medium heat. Each side should take about 30 seconds to get nicely browned. The meatballs don't need to cook through. Remove them and set aside.

For the Stew:

  • Prepare the vegetables by finely chopping the onions, crushing the garlic, and dicing the potatoes into small cubes (don't make them too big or they will need longer to cook)
  • In the same skillet that the meatballs were seared in, add the vegetable oil, the onions and the salt and cook for a few minutes on medium heat until translucent
  • Add the cubes of potato and continue to cook on medium heat until they start to brown slightly (this builds up flavour). This should take about 10 minutes.
  • Add the crushed garlic, tomato paste, seven spice and black pepper and cook for another few minutes until garlic is fragrant
  • Add the vegetable broth, the pomegranate molasses, and the frozen peas and mix well
  • Add the meatballs back into the skillet, cover and allow the stew to simmer for 25 minutes until potatoes are soft
  • Taste and adjust the final dish. I typically add in a pinch of sugar if I find it too tarte, as well as balance the salt if needed. Serve with rice and enjoy!

Notes

  • I typically use onion powder in the meatballs mixture to save time and it works great! But if you want to use fresh onions, be sure to grate it and add it in
  • If you don’t have seven spice, you can replace it with allspice (the allspice berry which is available at most grocery stores)
  • You can add in other vegetables if you like, such as spinach, carrots, or mushrooms
  • You can also make this without the potatoes and peas, with just the meatballs. Although I think the potatoes and peas add so much flavour
Serving: 200g, Calories: 646kcal, Carbohydrates: 32g, Protein: 33g, Fat: 43g, Saturated Fat: 21g, Trans Fat: 2g, Cholesterol: 118mg, Sodium: 1530mg, Potassium: 1267mg, Fiber: 5g, Sugar: 4g, Vitamin A: 1432IU, Vitamin C: 44mg, Calcium: 82mg, Iron: 6mg
Did you make this recipe?Please leave a star rating and review below!