Beid bel basturma- Eggs with basturmafeatured
Basturma with eggs- a super savory Egyptian breakfast classic that comes together in ten minutes with only three ingredients.
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What is basturma?
Basturma- or pastirma, basterma, bastirma- is a highly-seasoned dried cured beef originating in Armenia and finding its way into popular Egyptian cuisine.
The basturma-making process can take several weeks time. First, it is dry cured in salt.
Then, it is coated in a thick spice paste made of spices like caraway, paprika, fenugreek, black pepper, allspice, cayenne pepper, cumin and mashed garlic.
It has a distinctly pungent smell and strong flavors.
See that red paste along the edges of the sliced basturma- that’s the spice mix that is going to do all your seasoning work for you.
An Egyptian breakfast staple
Alongside ful medammes (fava beans) and taameya (Egyptian falafel) you will typically find an assortment of sides like cheeses, cut fresh vegetable, pickles, and olives.
You will also likely find eggs. And eggs cooked with basturma, beid bel basturma in Arabic, is one of the most popular Egyptian egg dishes. And for good reason. It is flavorful, nutritious, and super easy to make!
This dish can be made several ways, but here I am showing you the way my family always made it- scrambled.
Ingredients
Making this dish is super easy and despite its delicious and complex flavors, it only contains three ingredients:
- Basturma
- Eggs
- Ghee or butter for frying
Yes just three.
This might be the only time I ever say this but- you don’t even need to salt it.
The basturma itself is plenty salty. So trust me when I tell you it is doing all the seasoning work for you.
How to make basturma with scrambled eggs
This dish comes together super quickly in a few easy steps.
Firstly, prepare your basturma by cutting it into bite-size pieces, and your eggs by whisking thoroughly.
Then heat your ghee or butter in a nonstick pan over medium-high heat.
Add in basturma, and fry, stirring constantly, until it begins to crispy up and the spices start browning in the pan.
Remember those red bits of spice paste? They will start to caramelize and release tons of flavor. Once they are browning and sticking to the pan, you are ready to add your eggs.
Turn the heat down to medium and add in the whisked eggs.
Turn and fold the mixture as it cooks, as you do when making regular scrambled eggs.
Remember, fried eggs will always continue cooking for a bit after turning off the eat, so remove them slightly before they reach your desired doneness.
I don’t like my eggs cooked hard, so I like to remove it when the eggs are almost fully cooked but still a bit wet, like so:
And, that’s it. You’re done!
Serving basturma with eggs
This is typically served with pita-style bread that you can use to pick up your eggs and eat. Or you can stuff and make a sandwich.
Serve alongside other breakfast dishes or on it’s own.
Basturma bel beid – Basturma with eggs
Equipment
- Nonstick frying pan
Ingredients
- 2 TBS ghee or butter
- 5-6 slices basturma
- 4 large eggs
Instructions
- In a bowl, whisk eggs thoroughly.
- Cut basturma slices into bite-size pieces.
- In a nonstick pan over medium-high heat, melt ghee or butter, then add basturma pieces.
- Fry basturma, stirring constantly, until it begins to become crispy, and the spices begin to brown and caramelize on the pan.
- Turn heat down to medium. Add whisked eggs, and fry turning constantly until you reach your preferred doneness. I like to remove the eggs when they are almost fully cooked, but still a bit wet, as they will continue to cook once removed from heat.
- Transfer to a plate and serve with flatbread and any desired accompaniments.
