🍢 SNACK
Bajilla (Qatari Spiced Boiled Broad Beans)
Whole dried broad beans soaked overnight and boiled soft with salt, then served warm with lemon, cumin and chopped hot chili, with bread on the side.
Qatari · easy · serves 6
prep 10 min · cook 60 min · plus 12 h hands-off time
~283 cal · 18g protein · 52g carbs · 1g fat · 13g fiber · 2g sugars · 0g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Bajilla, also written bajella or bagilla, is whole broad beans, the large fava beans sold dried in the Gulf under that name, boiled until soft and eaten warm. It is one of the everyday dishes of the Qatari table: the Qatari chef Aisha Al-Tamimi lists it among the traditional starters and light dishes in her cookbook of Qatari home cooking, next to nakhi, boiled chickpeas, and shakshuka-style eggs and tomatoes.
The method is the same across the Gulf. The beans soak overnight, are boiled with salt, sometimes with a pinch of baking soda to help them soften, and are then served in bowls seasoned with lemon juice, cumin and hot chili. In Kuwait it is sold from the same small takeaway shops as nakhi, where demand for both climbs in Ramadan.
Unlike ful medames, the beans are left whole rather than mashed into a stew, and each diner seasons their own bowl. It is eaten with warm bread, at breakfast or as a cheap, filling snack.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian, vegan and gluten-, dairy-, nut-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 6
- 500 g whole dried broad (fava) beans (bajilla)
- 1/2 tsp baking soda, optional; helps older beans soften
- 2.5 litres water
- 2 tsp salt, or to taste
- 2 lemons lemon juice
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 to 3 hot green chilies, finely chopped
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
Instructions
- 1Rinse the beans, cover them with plenty of cold water and soak for at least 12 hours, changing the water once or twice. Drain and rinse.
- 2Put the beans in a large pot with the fresh water and the baking soda, bring to a boil and skim off the foam.
- 3Simmer, partly covered, for 45 to 60 minutes, until the beans are soft right through and the skins are tender. Add the salt for the last 10 minutes, and top up with hot water if the level drops below the beans.✎ Chef’s noteOlder dried beans can take longer. Test several; they should crush easily between your fingers.
- 4Lift the beans into bowls with a little of their cooking liquid. Squeeze over lemon juice and season with cumin, black pepper and chopped chili, adding more salt to taste. Serve warm, with warm bread (use a gluten-free one if you avoid gluten).
Qatari and Gulf home tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Doha. Harees is Gulf-wide rather than Qatari, and the iftar table here usually leads with it and with thareed, bread soaked through with a meat and vegetable stew. Madrouba, balaleet, luqaimat and khanfaroush fill out the same table, which is a Ramadan repertoire more than a national cuisine.
🗺️
Qatar. Qatari food centers on machboos and slow-cooked harees, reflecting Bedouin and Gulf-trade roots. Dates, dried lime, saffron, and lavish shared platters define a hospitable desert table.
🌍
Asia. A grain line runs across the continent. Rice dominates the wet south and east, wheat the drier north and west, and the tools follow it: the wok and the steamer where rice is milled, the tandoor and the griddle where wheat is ground. Tea travels the other way, drunk green, black, salted, buttered or with milk depending how far it got from China.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Qatar
HareesWheat berries and meat pounded together over long cooking into a smooth, comforting porridge.
KhanfarooshLittle saffron-and-cardamom cakes, crisp outside and soft within, fried and dusted with sugar.
MadroubaA soft, porridge-like rice and chicken dish beaten smooth with spices and dried lime, comforting Qatari Ramadan fare.
Browse all Qatar recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Pot or saucepan.
Storing it: Best the day it is made. Wrap well and refresh in a warm oven, or freeze and reheat straight from frozen.
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Cuisine
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Frequently asked questions
What is Bajilla (Qatari Spiced Boiled Broad Beans)?
Whole dried broad beans soaked overnight and boiled soft with salt, then served warm with lemon, cumin and chopped hot chili, with bread on the side.
Where does Bajilla (Qatari Spiced Boiled Broad Beans) come from?
Bajilla (Qatari Spiced Boiled Broad Beans) is a Qatari dish from Doha, Qatar.
Can Bajilla (Qatari Spiced Boiled Broad Beans) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Bajilla (Qatari Spiced Boiled Broad Beans) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions. Treat the substitutions as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Bajilla (Qatari Spiced Boiled Broad Beans) safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we still count coconut as a tree nut to be cautious, although the FDA stopped listing it as one in 2025), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Bajilla (Qatari Spiced Boiled Broad Beans) take to make?
About 13 h 10 min in all: 10 minutes prep and 60 minutes cooking, plus 12 h of hands-off waiting the method needs, serving 6.
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