Rather than garnishing each dish yourself, you can leave the garnishes on the table and let each person add them to taste. Bessara can be served either as a soup or a dip. To make the dip, just use a bit less water and continue cooking it until it thickens to about the consistency of hummus. When served as a soup, bessara should be thin enough to pour into a bowl but thick enough to scoop with a piece of bread. If you prefer to use frozen fava beans, the cooking time will be much shorter, about 30 minutes. When using frozen fava beans, blanch them to easily remove their skins before adding them to the pot with garlic, salt and water.