My neighbor grew up outside Amman, and the first time she cooked this for me, it was because she had leftover beef and a bowl of tomatoes one day away from going soft. She didn't measure anything, which made writing this recipe down harder than it should have been. Galayet bandora, in its simplest form, is just tomatoes cooked down in olive oil. Add beef, and you've got something you can actually build a dinner around instead of serving on the side.

Active Time: 15 minutes T
Total Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients

  • 1 lb beef, cut into small cubes
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 4 large ripe tomatoes, diced (or one 28 oz can crushed tomatoes)
  • 1 green hot pepper (serrano or jalapeño), sliced
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon allspice
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • Cooked rice, for serving

Instructions

Preparation

Cut the beef into cubes smaller than you'd use for a stew, since smaller pieces cook faster and stay tender in this dish. Dice the onion and mince the garlic before you start cooking, because the next steps move fast once the pan is hot. If you're using fresh tomatoes instead of canned, dice them roughly the same size as the beef so they break down evenly. Slice the hot pepper thin, and remove the seeds first if you want less heat.

Cooking

Heat the olive oil in a wide skillet over medium-high heat, then brown the beef on all sides, about five minutes. Add the onion and cook until it softens, stirring so it doesn't catch on the bottom of the pan. Stir in the garlic and hot pepper for about a minute, just until you can smell the garlic. Add the tomatoes, cumin, and allspice, then lower the heat and let everything simmer for twenty to twenty-five minutes, until the beef is tender and the sauce thickens. I've tried rushing this step to save time, and the beef comes out chewy every time. Twenty minutes is the minimum, not a suggestion.

Serving

Season with salt and pepper once the sauce has thickened, tasting as you go since canned tomatoes vary in saltiness. Serve galayet bandora with rice, spooning the tomato sauce generously over each portion. Warm pita or shrak bread works too, if you'd rather scoop it up than eat it with a fork. Either way, the dish tastes better the second day, once the flavors have had time to settle.

Nutritional Value Per One Serving

Nutrition Facts (one serving):

  • Calories: 320
  • Total Fat: 18g
  • Saturated Fat: 5g
  • Cholesterol: 65mg
  • Sodium: 410mg
  • Total Carbohydrates: 12g
  • Dietary Fiber: 3g
  • Sugars: 6g
  • Protein: 27g

Tips and Variations

Lamb works in place of beef if that's what you have, and it's actually closer to how some Jordanian households make galayet bandora with meat. Potatoes, cut into small chunks and added alongside the beef, stretch the dish further without diluting the flavor much. Skip the hot pepper entirely if you're cooking for kids, or for anyone who doesn't want the heat.

If tomatoes are out of season, canned crushed tomatoes work fine and actually give a more consistent sauce than underripe fresh ones. A sprinkle of pine nuts on top adds crunch, which some families do for a plain galayet bandora recipe too, not just the meat version.

Conclusion

What sold me on this dish wasn't the history behind it. It was how little cleanup it left, one pan, twenty-five minutes of mostly waiting, and a dinner that tasted like it came from somewhere with better tomatoes than my grocery store. Make it once with beef, and the plain version will feel like it's missing something.

For more delightful recipes, check out our collection of salads.