Balela: salad of chickpeas and black beans

Balela salad
Balela salad

The Balela salad is a dish of Egyptian roots that has gained great fame since a popular supermarket of organic food began to market it, thus becoming one of the star dishes of the place.

This is a salad rich in proteins of good quality with a delicious combination of acidic and fresh notes and a delicate hot spot that gives you the jalapeño. The dressing, in addition, highlights each and every one of the ingredients that make up a very tasty and juicy touch.

Although it usually brings grape tomatoes, we wanted to give it a touch of more vivid and autumnal flavor and we have replaced these with dried tomatoes, which also gives us an even more exquisite contrast.

At the time of serving, the Balela is an ideal dish to accompany it with pita bread or rice, and even to say with nachos or serve with tortillas .

As for its nutrients, this dish is rich in protein , fiber , lecithin , omega 3 , omega 6 and omega 9 ; complex carbohydrates ( slow absorption and satiating power ), flavonoids , beta-carotene , lycopene , allicin , alliin , vitamins A , C , E and group B ( B1 , B6 and B9 or folic acid ), sulfur , calcium , phosphorus , iron , magnesium , manganese , potassium , selenium , sodium , iodine and, in smaller quantities, copper and zinc .

Below you can see what ingredients you need and the steps to follow to make a complete salad with a very special flavor.

Difficulty levelPreparation timeRations
Easy20 m.For 3 people

For the salad

  • 250 gr. cooked chickpeas
  • 250 gr. cooked black bean
  • 1 small purple onion
  • 75 gr. dry tomato (hydrated in oil)
  • 1 jalapeño
  • 2 tablespoons parsley (chopped)
  • 1 tablespoon fresh mint
  • 1 teaspoon salt

For seasoning

  • 50 ml. extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 y 1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • 1 y 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 clove of garlic (small)
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Instructions

  1. We pass water chickpeas and beans, we drain them and we pass them to a big bowl.
  2. Chop the onion very small and incorporate it into the bowl.
  3. Drain the tomatoes, cut them into strips and add them to the bowl.
  4. Wash and dry the parsley, cut it small and throw it into the bowl too.
  5. Wash the jalapeño, remove the seeds, cut into slices and add it to the bowl.
  6. Wash the mint, dry it with kitchen paper, chop it with a knife and put it in the bowl where we have the rest of the ingredients. Add the salt and stir everything in a couple of turns. We reserve
  7. In a small bowl, prepare the vinaigrette with chopped garlic, vinegar, salt, pepper and lemon and, little by little, we are pouring the oil while stirring well with some rods until getting the vinaigrette emulsified.
  8. When we have poured all the oil and the vinaigrette has emulsified, pour this over the salad that we have prepared in the bowl and stir for the ingredients to be well mixed and seasoned. Let stand about 30 minutes for the flavors to settle (optional) and serve.
Balela salad finished
Balela salad finished
Aerial shot of Balela salad
Aerial shot of Balela salad

Notes

  • If you do not have jalapeño, you can replace it with a pinch of cayenne pepper.
  • So that the salad has a more pleasant temperature in the coldest months, you can heat the vegetables in a pan with a few drops of oil and then put them in the bowl and add the rest of the ingredients.
  • If you find it easy to find, you can add a pinch of sumac (also called sumac or rhus). This spice will give you an extra point of acrimony.
  • Although this salad can be consumed as soon as it is ready, we recommend that you let it rest for 30 minutes to make it more tasty.

If you have any questions, you can leave it to us in the comments. And if you dare and want to show your creations to the world, do not hesitate to label us, we will love to see them through the networks! :)

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