Balilah with Preserved Lemons and Pomegranates

Author Notes

I came across a recipe for Balilah in Yotam Ottolenghi's cookbook, Jerusalem. What made me fall in love with this was that it was a Middle Eastern version of a comfort snack food that my dad introduced me to from ONE particular street vendor in Mumbai in 1998. He insisted that I try the snack just for observing the sheer attention to detail that that food vendor lavished on each cone of the 'chane ki chaat' (chick pea chaat). (This was a 'defining' moment for me, an unforgettable lesson to cast aside food snobbery and appreciate street food for what it is.) The resulting dish was a bejeweled mix of green chickpeas and ruby red pomegranate arils, interspersed with the tiniest bits of sweet onion and pinpricks of heat from finely, almost-minced green chiles.

While making Balilah for this years Thanksgiving supper, the memories came flooding back and the resulting version of my appetizer was a blend of similar street foods from two great culinary traditions. (With some improvisation thrown in!) —Panfusine

Test Kitchen Notes

Wow! This dish is delicious, and my husband and I polished off the entire batch in one sitting. It has a powerful combination of flavors: tart pomegranate arils, earthy garbanzo beans, briny preserved lemon, smokey toasted cumin, zingy serrano, sharp onion, and green parsley. I was a little concerned the ingredients might not play well together, but panfusine has done a masterful job of balancing them. There are no bullies here! The components get along even better after mingling for a half hour or more, so definitely make some to keep in the fridge for snacking. —hardlikearmour