Balaleet

Ingredients

Vermicelli

• 250 gfine vermicelli (sha’riya), broken into 5 cm lengths
• 60 gghee or butter
• 100 gsugar
• a large pinch of saffron threads, soaked in 2 tbsp rose water
• 1 tspground cardamom
• ¼ tspground turmeric, for colour
• ½ tspsalt
• 300 mlwater

Omelette

• 4eggs
• 2 tbspmilk
• ¼ tspsalt
• 1 tbspghee

To finish

• 2 tbspslivered pistachios or almonds
• 1 tsprose water

Directions

1. Toast the broken vermicelli in half the ghee over medium heat for 4–5 minutes, stirring constantly, until evenly golden brown. This toasting is what stops balaleet tasting like sweet plain pasta.
2. Add the water, salt and turmeric, cover and cook 6–8 minutes until the vermicelli is tender and the liquid has gone. Watch it closely at the end; it catches quickly.
3. Stir in the sugar, cardamom, the saffron with its rose water and the remaining ghee, and cook 3 minutes more over low heat until glossy and fragrant. Taste — it should be sweet but not cloying, since the eggs are savoury.
4. Beat the eggs with the milk and salt. Cook them in the ghee in a wide pan over low heat as a thin, flat, pale omelette, without colouring or folding it.
5. Balaleet is served in two ways: mound the sweet vermicelli on a plate and lay the omelette flat over the top like a lid, or chop the omelette and fold it through. The lid is the Gulf breakfast presentation.
6. Scatter with nuts, sprinkle the last of the rose water over and serve warm, with strong tea or chai karak.

Technique

• The contrast is the dish: sweet, saffron-scented vermicelli against a plain savoury egg. Sweetening the omelette collapses the whole idea.
• Toast the vermicelli to a real brown, not blond. Under-toasted, it tastes flat.
• Turmeric is for colour only, a quarter teaspoon at most. More and it tastes earthy.

Substitutions

• Orange-blossom water in place of rose water, common in some households.
• Butter for ghee, though ghee is what gives the traditional aroma.

Variations

• Served cold as a sweet, without the egg.
• A version with a little condensed milk stirred through for children.

History

Sweet vermicelli under a savoury omelette, eaten at breakfast across the Gulf.

Frequently asked questions

What is Balaleet?

Balaleet is a breakfast from Bahrain: cardamom vermicelli with saffron and egg. Sweet vermicelli under a savoury omelette, eaten at breakfast across the Gulf.

How long does Balaleet take to make?

Balaleet takes 10 min of preparation and 25 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Balaleet?

Yes, within limits. Orange-blossom water in place of rose water, common in some households. Butter for ghee, though ghee is what gives the traditional aroma.

What is the most important thing to get right in Balaleet?

The contrast is the dish: sweet, saffron-scented vermicelli against a plain savoury egg. Sweetening the omelette collapses the whole idea.