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Authentic Galayet Bandora recipe

Authentic Galayet Bandora (قلاية بندورة أو مسقة بندورة)

Galayet Bandora (قلاية بندورة أو مسقة بندورة) is my most favorite Palestinian and Jordanian dish! Galayet Bandora is made in a skillet using a mixture of beef, tomatoes, peppers, onion, and spices. Traditionally served with labne, radish, green onion, and shrak. My galayet bandora recipe is so easy to make and is filled with all the delicious flavors of the Middle East.
5 from 5 votes
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Arabic, Jordanian
Servings 8 people
Calories 435 kcal

Equipment

  • pressure cooker
  • Wok or a large skillet
  • Large serving platter

Ingredients
  

To cook the meat:

  • 2 ½ pounds Beef, chopped into small pieces
  • Salt
  • Fresh black pepper
  • Arabic 7 spice blend
  • 2 tablespoon ghee or grass fed butter
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 yellow onion
  • ½ tablespoon whole cloves
  • ½ tbsp whole cardamom pods
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 5 cups Broth

For the galayet bandora:

  • 9 vine tomatoes
  • 1 tablespoon ghee or grass fed butter
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 yellow onion
  • 1 bell pepper
  • 1 hot pepper
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1 teaspoon Arabic 7 spice blend
  • ½ teaspoon ground dried ginger
  • ½ tablespoon whole cardamom pods
  • 1 teaspoon whole cloves
  • 2 bay leaves

Served with:

  • ½ cup Toasted pine nuts can sub slivered almonds
  • Labne can substitute plain yogurt
  • Olive oil
  • Shrak (markouk)
  • Fresh radishes
  • Fresh green onions

Instructions
 

How to cook the meat for galayet bandora:

  • Season cubed beef with salt, pepper, and 7 spices. Simply sprinkle these 3 across the top and massage it into your beef.
    2 ½ pounds Beef, chopped into small pieces, Salt, Fresh black pepper, Arabic 7 spice blend
    galayet bandora with meat
  • To pressure cook your beef: sauté the beef in butter or ghee till golden brown along with 1 diced yellow onion.
    2 tablespoon ghee, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 yellow onion
  • Add your spices and cover with broth. Cover and pressure cook on high for 20 minutes and then it is ready to add straight to your frying pan!
    ½ tablespoon whole cloves, ½ tablespoon whole cardamom pods, 2 bay leaves, 5 cups Broth
    Galayet Bandora Recipe Authentic with Meat

How to cook the galayet bandora:

  • While the beef pressure cooks, I like to get my tomatoes started.
    Bring a large stock pot to a boil with water and 9 tomatoes.
    9 vine tomatoes
    tomatoes for galayet bandora
  • Once you see the skin on the tomatoes crack, transfer them to an ice bath to help cool them off quicker.
    Once cool enough to handle, peel the tomato skins off and finely chop the tomato flesh. Drain off excess tomato water into the sink.
    authentic galayet bandora recipe with tomato and meat
  • In a large wok or frying pan, heat 1-2 tablespoons grass fed butter or ghee.
    Add 1 diced yellow onion. Drizzle 1-2 tablespoons olive oil. Sauté until onion is beginning to turn golden.
    Next, add 1 hot pepper, cut in half and de-seeded. You can also add a diced bell pepper.
    1 tablespoon ghee, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 yellow onion, 1 bell pepper, 1 hot pepper
  • Add the chopped tomatoes to your peppers and onions and toss to combine.
    Finally, remove the meat from the broth and add it to the pan along with the spices.
    Stir to combine the meat with the spices and vegetables. Reduce heat to low and cover your pan. cook for about 30 minutes so that all the galayet bandora flavors meld together perfectly.
    1 teaspoon ground black pepper, 1 tablespoon sea salt, 1 teaspoon ground coriander, 1 teaspoon Arabic 7 spice blend, ½ teaspoon ground dried ginger, ½ tablespoon whole cardamom pods, 1 teaspoon whole cloves, 2 bay leaves
    Traditional Galayet Bandora recipe easy

How to serve the galayet bandora:

  • Serve with toasted pine nuts on top and labne for dipping. You can use shrak bread to eat it and serve fresh radishes and green onions on the side.
    ½ cup Toasted pine nuts, Labne, Olive oil, Shrak (markouk), Fresh radishes, Fresh green onions
    Authentic Jordanian Palestinian Galayet Bandora recipe

Video

Notes

There are 3 ways to cook your meat for Galayet Bandora:
  1. Saute right in the frying pan with the vegetables. However, if you cook your galayet beef this way, it might take forever to get to the perfect buttery texture. I don't recommend it unless you have a bit of time to wait.
  2. Boil in a pot of broth over the stove. This is the way my MIL makes her beef a lot of times. It works, but it takes up to 1 ½ hours to get the right beef texture.. and sometimes the pieces of beef lose their integrity.
  3. Pressure cook! I use an instant pot, but a regular old pressure cooker works just as well. Pressure cooking your beef will give you the most perfect buttery texture in minimal time.
Nutrition facts on this recipe are just an estimate and may vary based on the ingredients you choose and varying serving sizes. Nutrition facts are only for galayet bandora and do not the serving foods (bread, labne, vegetables).

Nutrition

Serving: 1servingCalories: 435kcalCarbohydrates: 4gProtein: 24gFat: 33gSaturated Fat: 9.9gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1.4gMonounsaturated Fat: 1.4gCholesterol: 88mgSodium: 75mgPotassium: 792mgFiber: 3gVitamin C: 61.96mgCalcium: 30mgIron: 1.93mg
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