Ingredients
Chickpeas
- 300 gdried chickpeas, soaked overnight with 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1bay leaf
Dressing
- juice of 2 lemons
- 4 clovesgarlic, crushed to a paste with salt
- 1 tspground cumin
- 5 tbspgood olive oil
- salt
To finish
- chopped parsley
- a little more cumin
- chilli flakes, optional
Sometimes
- a spoonful of tahini
- a knob of butter
To serve
- warm, in a bowl, with bread, early in the morning
Directions
- Cook them from dried, since this is one dish where tinned chickpeas are noticeably inferior. Soak them overnight in plenty of cold water with a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda. The bicarbonate raises the pH of the water, which helps break down the pectin in the skins so the chickpeas cook far softer.
- Rinse them thoroughly afterwards, since too much bicarbonate leaves a soapy taste. They should roughly double in size. Simmer them with a bay leaf for an hour to an hour and a half.
- Cook them until they are genuinely soft, crushing easily between finger and thumb. Balila should be soft and almost creamy rather than firm and nutty, which is the opposite of what you want in a salad. Skim the foam that rises in the first ten minutes. Removing the skins gives a noticeably smoother, more luxurious texture, and it takes a patient twenty minutes.
- Crush the garlic to a paste with salt rather than chopping it. Use it generously, since garlic is a main flavour here. Toast whole seeds in a dry pan and grind them fresh if you can, which gives far more flavour than pre-ground.
- Use it generously and add more at the table. Use plenty of lemon juice, since the acid is what lifts an otherwise soft, mild dish. Use a good olive oil, poured over generously at the end rather than stirred in. Balila is served warm, not hot and not cold.
- Warm chickpeas absorb the dressing far better than cold ones, and the flavours open up. If you cooked them earlier, warm them gently in a little of their liquid before dressing them. Put the warm chickpeas in a bowl with a few spoonfuls of their cooking liquid. Add the garlic paste, cumin, lemon and salt and stir gently. Stir gently, since the chickpeas are soft and crush easily.
- Taste and adjust the lemon, salt and cumin, which is where the dish is made. Now serving it out while warm. Pour olive oil over generously and scatter parsley and a little more cumin over. Serve it with warm flatbread, which is used to scoop it.
Technique
- Bicarbonate of soda in the soaking water helps the chickpeas cook soft.
- It is served warm rather than hot or cold.
- Some of the cooking liquid goes in the bowl, so it is not drained dry.
Substitutions
- Tinned chickpeas at a pinch, warmed in their liquid.
- Ground cumin if you cannot toast and grind whole seeds.
Variations
- With a spoonful of tahini stirred through.
- With butter melted over, which some shops do.
- With chilli flakes, for a hotter version.
History
Sold in the early morning from the same carts and shops as foul, eaten as a cheap hot breakfast.
Frequently asked questions
What is Balila?
Balila is a street food from Lebanon: warm chickpeas dressed with lemon, garlic, cumin and olive oil. Sold in the early morning from the same carts and shops as foul, eaten as a cheap hot breakfast.
How long does Balila take to make?
Balila takes 10 min plus overnight soaking of preparation and 1 hr 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Balila?
Yes, within limits. Tinned chickpeas at a pinch, warmed in their liquid. Ground cumin if you cannot toast and grind whole seeds.
What is the most important thing to get right in Balila?
Cook them until they are genuinely soft, crushing easily between finger and thumb. Balila should be soft and almost creamy rather than firm and nutty, which is the opposite of what you want in a salad. Skim the foam that rises in the first ten minutes. Removing the skins gives a noticeably smoother, more luxurious texture, and it takes a patient twenty minutes.
