Anything with chickpeas is like a path of least resistance in my house. So we are able to go through
- A fair bit of hummus,
- A mount of chole,
- Afterschool channa chaat,
- Weekend sundal etc
Since we have cooked chickpea at hand almost every week,this easy Leventine recipe caught our eye plainly because of how simple it was. Within a couple of weeks, the recipe was much on demand.
Will you try it with me?
What is humus balila?
Hummus balila or Lebanese chickpeas is a staple vegan preparation with soft cooked chickpeas. Hummus is Arabic is chickpeas and as far as I have gathered balila is boiled, so quite literally the name means boiled chickpeas. The soft cooked chickpeas have a lemon garlic dressing which cuts out the heaviness of the cooked bean and makes it more enjoyable. This nonspicy dish is served cold as a part of mezze with pickled vegetables, fresh salad pita bread, lavazz crackers, tabbouleh etc.
Dietary profile of Hummus balila
- Gluten free
- Grain free
- Nut free
- Vegan
Ingredients to make hummus balila
The recipe comes together with just 5 ingredients. The bulk of it being chickpeas and the rest as seasoning and flavour. This is therefore a easy pantry based recipe
Chickpeas: the white chickpeas or kabuki channa is the bulk of the dish. You can start from scratch and soak and cooked the dried beans on get them out of a can. Essentially you need soft cooked chickpeas.
Olive oil:good quality olive oil gives that creamy delicateness to the dish. Look for quality and the classic olive fragrance.
Garlic:,mined garlic not only adds flavour but helps reduce the gassiness of the beans. So is a great addition.
Lemon:there is no hummus without lemon, loads of it. It reduces the heaviness of a bean based dish.
Salt: sea salt is preffered to make it as the minerals do have a taste change with the lemon and beans. However, this is not essential.
Herbs: adding chopped parsley is optional to recipe. A last sprinkle of a bit of chickpeas give it a pop of colour. You can avoid it if you don’t like it.
Let’s make balila
Add in the flavour: to the prepared chickpeas add the olive oil, minced garlic, salt and lots of lemon juice. Mix well.
Garnish with herbs: chop the parsley and sprinkle on the prepared hummus balila.
What to serve with chickpea balila?
Meal prep and lunch boxes
You can make a healthy sandwich with it sauteed kale and tahini like we have done in this link.
Make a portioned box with some pita crisps,fresh cut veggies and balila to have as your lunch.
I haven’t tried freezing the balila, however the chickpea does freeze well, so the balila should do well too.
Hummus Balila
Ingredients
Main ingredient
- 1/4 cup chickpea dry
- 3 cups drinking water
flavorants
- 4-5 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp cumin seeds crushed
- 3-5 cloves garlic finely minced
- 2 tbsp Lemon juice
- 1 tsp parsley flat leaf, chopped.
Instructions
- Wash and soak the chickpeas for 6 hours
- Drain the water
- Add 3 cups of water to soaked chickpeas and pressure cook for 30 minutes
- Let the pressure release natually.
- Drain the cooking liquid from the chickpeas and give it a rinse.
- Add the cooked chickpeas to a mixing bowl.
- With the back of a ladle give a gentle mash so that the chickpeas are slightly squished but not mushy.
- Mince the garlic, squeeze the lemon, clean and chop the parsley and set all the ingredients ready.
- Add all except the parsley to the mixing bowl.
- Stir through well, then drizzle with olive oil.
- transfer into a serving dish, sprinkle the parsley and another few drop of olive oil.
- Keep chilled and serve as a part of mezze board
Collaboration
Stay connected
We have not put together a whole mezze of Mediterranian dishes, however mezze is a great way to feature hummus balila. Hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I loved the simplicity of it. Let us know in the discussion below your thoughts on this recipe or how you would serve it.
Stay subscribed and see you in the next post.
Oh, yum! This salad looks so good! I want to grab some straight off the screen. 🙂
This flavourful salad looks so tempting. Fantastic share Seema.
My family loves chickpeas in any form, be it curry , dip , chat or salad. Your salad with olive oil, lemon juice, parsley and garlic sounds simple yet flavorful Seema ! Lovely share !
The recipe sounds so easy and simple , but I am sure it must be full of flavours with garlic and parsley. Will love to try next time whenever I have boiled chickpeas in hand.
Chickpea salad sounds healthy and delicious. Chickpea cumin garlic definitely makes it flavourful and lip-smacking. Superb share.
Excellent to scoop the pita bread with. I loved the addition of roasted pine nuts in the recipe, Seema.
I love the salad or more to the point hubby will love it. All his favourites garlic, oil and chana!!! I am eyeing the Morrocan pot behind. Looks so beautiful me drooling over it. I mean the pot 😀
At least once a month I treat myself to a relaxed dinner of homemade pita bread and hummus. This lovely salad will make for a variety, instead of the hummus. I have a small quantity of my hoard of pine nuts left, and will make this for my next ‘treat’. And the recipe for the Apricot nectar – I have to try that soon soon!
thats a lovely salad with Chickpeas.Guess this theme has given us a zillion ways to use chickpeas – one of my fav proteins.. the lemon here is very inviting !
Seema a new recipe for me, it looks so inviting and what I like best that its easy to put it together with minimum ingredients. Mashing the chickpeas definitely would make it scoop able with pita or any Levantine bread.
WOW !! a lovely combo with some pita breads particularly Simple yet much flavorful this is !!!
I love salads. Can have them anytime. This chickpea salad is very inviting. I am liking this name hummus balila:). Well I love everything about this post. Even the crochet:)
This sounds really yumm and delicious … It is a filling and healthy salad…
I am hosting this months MLLA event, I would request you to participate in this event…
https://www.motionsandemotions.com/2019/04/my-legume-love-affair-event.html
This recipe is simple and delicious- love it warm. A great addition to our meal.
Seema finally got down to trying out this easy peasy and delicious hummus balila recipe. Must admit used canned chickpeas and served it with some pita chips as a starter. Everyone loved the dish.
My husband enjoyed this delicious Hummus Balila. He has asked me to make it again. Thanks a lot!
Totally new recipe to me Seema, Hummus Balila looks interesting. Love how simple it is, minimal dressing. Here too kids enjoy chickpeas. Would love this of our weekend brunch !
Chickpea salad sounds so healthy and delicious. This is just a superb share, my dear. The ingredients here definitely make it so flavourful and lip-smacking as well.
Hummus Balila sounds very interesting. Kabuli channa in all forms is welcome at home. Have an upcoming get together with friends at home, so i am sure serving this.