Warm Spiced Chickpeas (Balila)
Chickpeas boiled until meltingly soft, then tossed warm with garlic, cumin, lemon and good olive oil. A Beiruti street-food classic and the coziest winter snack there is.
Servings
Ingredients
Nutrition
Per serving
Steps
Soak the chickpeas
Put the dried chickpeas in a large bowl and cover with cold water by about 5 cm. Stir in half the baking soda — this softens the skins so the chickpeas cook up tender rather than tough. Leave to soak at room temperature for 12 hours or overnight.
- 250 g dried chickpeas
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- to cover cold water
✅ Done when: the chickpeas have roughly doubled in size and their skins look slightly wrinkled
Boil until very tender
Drain and rinse the soaked chickpeas, then put them in a large pot with the water and the remaining baking soda. Bring to a boil, skim off the white foam that rises, then lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 60–90 minutes. This long, gentle simmer with baking soda is what gives its signature melt-in-the-mouth texture, so don't rush it.
- 250 g soaked chickpeas (from step 1)
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1.5 litres water
✅ Done when: a chickpea mashes easily between two fingers and the skins are starting to loosen
Drain, keeping some liquid
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Season while warm
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Finish with oil and lemon
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Garnish and serve
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Soak the chickpeas
Put the dried chickpeas in a large bowl and cover with cold water by about 5 cm. Stir in half the baking soda — this softens the skins so the chickpeas cook up tender rather than tough. Leave to soak at room temperature for 12 hours or overnight.
- 250 g dried chickpeas
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- to cover cold water
✅ Done when: the chickpeas have roughly doubled in size and their skins look slightly wrinkled
Boil until very tender
Drain and rinse the soaked chickpeas, then put them in a large pot with the water and the remaining baking soda. Bring to a boil, skim off the white foam that rises, then lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 60–90 minutes. This long, gentle simmer with baking soda is what gives its signature melt-in-the-mouth texture, so don't rush it.
- 250 g soaked chickpeas (from step 1)
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1.5 litres water
✅ Done when: a chickpea mashes easily between two fingers and the skins are starting to loosen
Drain, keeping some liquid
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Season while warm
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Finish with oil and lemon
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Garnish and serve
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The Story Behind the Dish
Balila has long been sold by street vendors in Beirut, carried in large pots and ladled into small cups or bowls for passersby. It belongs to a family of simple, protein-rich street snacks — alongside foul (fava beans) and roasted chestnuts — that kept working people fed through cold mornings.
Unlike hummus, the chickpeas here are left whole and dressed warm, right out of the pot, so the dish stays rustic and homely rather than smooth. It's as much a breakfast as a snack, eaten standing up on a chilly street corner with bread in hand.
⭐ Why It's Famous
Simple, warming and full of fresh cumin and lemon flavor, balila is one of Beirut's most loved winter street foods — cheap, filling and endlessly comforting.
💡 Fun Fact
The name balila is thought to come from an Arabic word for soaked, a nod to the overnight soak that turns dried chickpeas tender enough to melt in your mouth.
Beirut, Lebanon
33.89°N, 35.50°E
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