AI-generated image
Balaleet
Sweet vermicelli with omelette
Balaleet: Emirati sweet saffron vermicelli topped with a thin omelette
Sweet noodles for breakfast surprise visitors, but in the UAE and Qatar balaleet is the dish of Eid mornings and lazy weekend brunches. Fine vermicelli is toasted in butter, then steamed with sugar, saffron, cardamom and rose water until soft and glossy, and finally capped with a thin, salty-edged omelette. The contrast of sweet, fragrant noodles and savoury egg is the whole point, so serve them together in one wedge. Chef's tip: toast the vermicelli until it is the colour of a biscuit; pale noodles taste flat and floury.
- Total time
- 25 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the vermicelli
- ¼ tsp saffron threads
- 1 tbsp rose water
- 1 oz butter or ghee
- 7 oz fine wheat vermicellibroken into 5 cm lengths
- 1 ¾ cups waterboiling
- 2 ½ oz sugar
- ½ tsp ground cardamom
For the omelette
- 3 eggs
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 pinch ground turmeric
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
Shop this recipe on Amazon
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (1)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Crumble ¼ tsp saffron threads into 1 tbsp rose water and leave to steep while you cook the noodles.
Step 2: Melt 1 oz butter or ghee in a wide pan over a medium heat. Add 7 oz fine wheat vermicelli and stir constantly for 3–4 minutes until it turns an even biscuit brown and smells nutty. Common mistake: walking away here; the thin noodles go from golden to burnt in seconds.
4 minStep 3: Carefully pour in 1 ¾ cups water (it will spit), then add 2 ½ oz sugar and ½ tsp ground cardamom. Stir, cover and cook over a low heat for 6–8 minutes until the noodles are soft and the water is absorbed.
8 minStep 4: Sprinkle the saffron rose water over the noodles, toss gently with a fork, cover and leave on the lowest heat for 2 minutes so they turn golden and glossy. Keep covered off the heat.
2 minStep 5: Beat 3 eggs with ¼ tsp salt and 1 pinch ground turmeric. Heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a 24 cm non-stick pan over a medium heat, pour in the eggs and tilt to make a thin layer. Cook 2 minutes, until set on top with no wet patches; there's no need to flip.
2 minStep 6: Pile the vermicelli on a plate and slide the omelette on top (or cut it into strips). Serve warm, cutting through both layers so each portion has some of each.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 380 kcal
- Protein
- 10 g
- Carbs
- 58 g
- Fat
- 12 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does balaleet take?
- About 25 minutes in total: 5 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of butter or ghee?
- Butter, same amount (keep the heat a little lower, butter burns sooner).
- What can I use instead of sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Sabudana khichdiSago with peanuts and potato
Sabudana khichdi is the dish that sees Maharashtra through every vrat (fast), from Navratri to Ekadashi, but it's so good that people eat it any day of the week. Soaked sago pearls are tossed in a pan with crushed roasted peanuts, cubes of potato, cumin and green chilli until each pearl turns glassy and separate, then finished with lemon and coriander. It's soft, chewy, nutty and gently hot. Fasting rules vary from family to family, so check yours; this version uses rock salt and no asafoetida, onion or garlic. Traditionally it's cooked in ghee; use ghee instead of oil if you aren't keeping it vegan. Chef's tip: soak the sago in just enough water to cover by the height of the pearls themselves, no more; too much water is the reason khichdi turns into one sticky lump.
Indian
Doi chiraFlattened rice with curd
Nothing is cooked for doi chira, which is why it has been the breakfast of farmers and fishermen in Barisal for generations: flattened rice is rinsed, softened in thick, slightly sour curd and sweetened with jaggery or sugar, then mashed together with a ripe banana. The texture is soft and creamy with a little chew from the rice flakes, and the taste is cool, sweet and tangy. It is eaten on hot summer mornings, at village fairs and as part of the Pohela Boishakh spread, and it is a favourite of children and of anyone fasting who wants something gentle. The usual misstep is soaking the chira for too long, which turns it to paste; a quick rinse is all it needs before the curd does the rest. Chef's tip: use thick-cut chira, not the thin kind for frying, so the flakes hold their shape.
Bangladeshi
BsissaRoasted barley flour with olive oil
A tin of bsissa sits in many Tunisian kitchen cupboards, from Tunis flats to farmhouses in the south: a finely ground flour of roasted barley, roasted chickpeas and spices such as coriander, fennel and aniseed. In the morning a few spoonfuls are worked with olive oil and something sweet into a nutty, crumbly paste, or stirred with water into a thick drink, and it keeps you going until lunch. Travellers and pilgrims once carried it for the road. Roasting your own flour takes 15 minutes and makes a jar that lasts weeks. Sugar and dates keep it vegan; some families use honey. Chef's tip: roast the flours separately over a low heat and stir constantly; the moment they smell like toasted biscuits and turn light tan, tip them out of the pan.
Tunisian