recipe
Baghali ghatogh: fava beans with dill, garlic and eggs
A northern Iranian bean-and-egg stew with fresh dill. Start with peeled green fava beans, keep the sauce spoonable, and finish the eggs gently under a lid.
One skillet with 1 pound prepared fava beans and 3 eggs; rice or bread separate
Plan ahead: Read the frozen-bean package before starting. Any required thawing, separate cooking or removal of inner skins comes before the skillet steps.
Ingredients and method
One skillet with 1 pound prepared fava beans and 3 eggs; rice or bread separate
Plan ahead: Read the frozen-bean package before starting. Any required thawing, separate cooking or removal of inner skins comes before the skillet steps.
Timing guide: Prepare the beans and wash and chop the dill first. The garlic, beans and dill cook briefly in oil, followed by a gentle simmer until the beans are tender. Add the eggs last and allow enough covered cooking for firm whites and yolks; neither bean preparation nor rice is included in that final stage.
Method
- Check that the beans are tender green favas with both pods and inner skins removed, not dried or canned mature brown favas. Follow the package's thawing and cooking directions. If it requires boiling or another separate cooking method, complete that first and drain; already-tender beans will need a shorter skillet simmer. Keep prepared beans refrigerated until cooking. People with G6PD deficiency should avoid this fava-bean dish.
- Have the washed, dried dill chopped and the garlic minced before heating a deep 10-inch skillet with a close-fitting lid. Warm the olive oil over medium-low heat. Stir in the garlic just until fragrant, about a minute; lower the heat if it begins to brown.
- Add the drained beans, turmeric, starting salt and pepper. Turn gently through the oil for about 2 minutes without crushing them. Add the dill and stir gently for about 3 minutes, reducing the heat if it sticks.
- Pour in the hot water carefully and bring to a gentle simmer. Cover and cook until the beans are tender, checking early if they were cooked separately; beans that still need softening may take about 10–15 minutes or longer. Satisfy the package's full cooking directions as well as tenderness. If the pan dries, add a small splash of hot water. If very soupy once the beans are tender, uncover briefly to reduce to a moist, spoonable stew. Taste the cooked beans and adjust salt before adding eggs.
- Make three shallow spaces among the beans. Crack each egg into a small clean cup, then slip it into a space. Cover and keep at a gentle simmer until both whites and yolks are firm; verify at least 160°F (71°C) in the egg-containing dish with a food thermometer. Continue beyond a soft or runny yolk. Keep a little sauce in the pan so the beans do not scorch while the eggs finish. Wash hands and utensils after handling raw eggs.
- Serve promptly, lifting an egg with a share of the beans and sauce. Offer rice or bread separately. Refrigerate leftovers in shallow containers within 2 hours, or 1 hour above 90°F, at 40°F or colder. Reheat leftovers to 165°F (74°C).
Buy the green bean with both skins removed
Baghali ghatogh (باقالی قاتق), also spelled baghala ghatogh or baghali ghatough, belongs to the cooking of northern Iran. Bean varieties differ between versions. This skillet uses green fava beans; the dried beans in other versions require their own preparation and cannot go straight into this method.
A label saying broad beans does not necessarily mean peeled. Look for peeled green broad beans or double-peeled favas and check the actual bag. Some bags are 400 grams, about 14 ounces: one is short of the 1 pound called for here. Buy enough to measure the prepared amount. Lima beans and edamame are different beans, not other names for favas.
Tender beans before eggs
Keep the heat gentle and turn the beans with a spoon rather than stirring hard. Finish softening the beans and adjusting the sauce before the eggs go in: reducing a watery sauce afterward can overcook the eggs or break them apart.
The lid retains steam for the egg finish. This version leaves three whole eggs in place and cooks their yolks firm. A photograph's surface appearance or a short timer cannot establish the temperature at the center.
Make it a meal
Start kateh rice before heating the bean skillet, so the eggs can be the last thing cooked. Salad Shirazi can be chopped and kept cold while the beans simmer. For a bread meal, use ready-to-serve flatbread; making barbari from dough is a separate project with rising and baking time.
Baghali polo puts dill and fava beans inside rice. Baghali ghatogh is a saucy bean-and-egg dish served with plain rice or bread.
Fava beans and eggs
People with G6PD deficiency should avoid fava beans, which can trigger hemolytic anemia. Peeling or cooking is not a workaround for that restriction. This dish contains eggs; check any bread or other accompaniments for additional allergens.