pasulj

{{Short description|Bean stew}}

{{Infobox food

| name = Pasulj

| image = Šareni pasulj obrok (pinto beans).jpg

| caption = Šareni pasulj (pinto beans)

| alternate_name = Grah, Grav, Grosh (Albanian)

| country =

| region = The Balkans

| creator =

| course =

| type = Soup

| served =

| main_ingredient = White or brown beans; Meat or smoked meat

| variations =

| calories =

| other =

}}

Pasulj (from phaseolus;{{cite book|title=Recueil de dialectologie serbe|volume=2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V2wwAQAAMAAJ|year=1911|publisher=Srpska kraljevska akademija|page=384}} {{lang|sh|пасуљ}}), grah ({{lang|sh|грах|}}) or grav ({{lang|mk|грав}}) is a bean stew made of usually white, cranberry or pinto beans, and kidney beans, {{cite web |title=Grah (Bean Soup) Recipe |url=https://travelfoodatlas.com/grah-bean-soup-recipe |website=Travel Food Atlas |date=28 April 2023 |access-date=22 November 2024}} which is a popular dish in Balkan cuisine. It is normally prepared with meat, particularly smoked meat such as smoked bacon, sausage, and ham hock, and is a dish typically eaten in the winter months, especially around the Christmas period.{{cite web|title=Serbian soldierly beans|url=http://www.serbiancookbook.com/food-recipes/serbian-soldierly-beans/|website=The Serbian Cookbook|date=20 January 2013 |access-date=17 December 2015}} Other commonly used ingredients include carrots and onions. Another version of the dish using baked beans is known as prebranac.The dish can be served both hot or cold, and it is typically served with a side of sour cream or ajvar, and bread.{{cite web |title=Prebranac Click for Serbia |url=https://clickforserbia.org/prebranac/ |access-date=11 April 2025 |date=2 April 2021}}

It is sometimes known in English as Serbian bean soup, or Serbian baked beans{{cite book|title=Ethnologia Balkanica|volume=12|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m14iAQAAMAAJ|year=2008|publisher=Lit Verlag|page=31|isbn=9783643101075}}{{cite book|author=Peta Lyn Farwagi|title=Full of beans|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dp-hzjshGpEC|date=August 1978|publisher=Harper & Row|isbn=978-0-06-090601-6|page=160}}{{cite book|author=Darwin Porter|title=Frommer's dollarwise guide to Austria & Hungary|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WAkYQ5U7tg4C|date=September 1986|publisher=Prentice Hall|isbn=978-0-671-62057-8}} and in German-speaking countries as Serbische Bohnensuppe ("Serbian bean soup").{{cite book|title=Der Spiegel|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QlLtAAAAMAAJ|year=1980|publisher=Spiegel-Verlag|page=147|quote=Srbski Pasulj‚ serbische Bohnensuppe}} Most Balkan countries have a variation of the dish. In Bulgaria it is known as "bob" or "bob chorba", which literally means "beans" or "bean soup". It can be in the form of a soup or with less liquid and baked. In North Macedonia, a spicy and thicker variant is known as tavče gravče ({{lang|mk|Тавче гравче}}; beans on a skillet), and greens such as celery and cabbage are often added. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Croatia, kajmak, a type of thick clotted cream is often added. The dish is believed to have roots in the Ottoman Empire, with the Turks believed to have brought beans to the Balkans.{{cite web |title=All about Pasulj. Types of Pasulj, Pasulj recipes and the origin of Pasulj. The World Food Wiki. |url=https://www.worldfoodwiki.com/pasulj |website=Worldfoodwiki |access-date=11 April 2025 |language=en}}{{cite web |title=Prebranac (Serbian Baked Beans) {{!}} Traditional Serbian Dish |url=https://www.worldfoodstory.co.uk/recipe/prebranac-serbian-baked-beans |website=World Food Story |access-date=11 April 2025 |date=15 December 2019}}

The idiom {{lang|sh|prosto kao pasulj}} ("simple as pasulj"), equates to English as easy as pie and French simple comme chou.{{cite book|author=Živorad Kovačević|title=Srpsko-engleski frazeološki rečnik|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m6FpAAAAMAAJ|year=2002|publisher=Filip Višnjić|page=11|isbn=9788673633220}}