Baleela (Creamy Chickpeas With Cumin and Pine Nuts) Recipe

Made with boiled chickpeas and seasoned with cumin, olive oil, and sometimes garlic and lemon juice, baleela is a humble dish loved throughout the Levant, particularly in Lebanon and Syria. It’s so common that you just’ll discover distributors strolling the streets of previous cities and neighborhoods calling out “baleela baleela” in hopes of serving it to passersby. They’ll place a scoop of boiled chickpeas in a disposable paper cup, then mud the legumes with floor cumin and a drizzle of olive oil, earlier than handing it over with a toothpick or plastic spoon. 

Whereas baleela was as soon as largely a avenue meals, it could possibly now be present in some hummus outlets, in addition to a part of mezze spreads in eating places within the Levant. Within the model of baleela sometimes served in eating places, a number of the beans are sometimes mashed frivolously with the flavorings earlier than they’re topped with extra olive oil, cumin, and a sprinkling of toasted pine nuts. It sounds fairly plain, however it’s this very simplicity that enables the flavors of every ingredient to shine: creamy chickpeas, brilliant olive oil, and earthy cumin in opposition to the tart lemon sauce and smoky, buttery taste of the toasted pine nuts. Whereas baleela is completely satisfying by itself, the addition of the pine nuts brings a satisfying crunch and toastiness.  

In case you favor your baleela to be thicker, frivolously mashing just a few of the chickpeas whereas mixing is a good way so as to add physique and create a velvety mouthfeel. However if you would like the distinct chunk of particular person chickpeas, you possibly can definitely skip this step. 

I’m a giant proponent of utilizing good high quality jarred or canned chickpeas in lots of dishes, however I do discover this dish is significantly better with chickpeas you might have soaked and boiled your self. Not solely do you might have the flavorful chickpea braising liquid to make use of within the dish, however you can too management the precise degree of doneness of the chickpeas. 

Each time I discover myself boiling chickpeas for an additional recipe—like hummus b’tahini—I all the time put together greater than I want so I can scoop out just a few spoonfuls to make a plate of this warming and aromatic dish. Just like the distributors within the Levant, I name out baleela baleela to announce to my household that it is prepared—and although I am not serving it in a paper cup, it is scrumptious simply the identical.