Balaleet — Print Recipe — The Culinary Codex

Sweetened saffron-cardamom vermicelli noodles crowned with a folded egg omelette. This beloved Emirati breakfast combines sweet and savory in one extraordinary dish.

Ingredients

250g thin vermicelli noodles
3 eggs
3 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp ghee
Pinch of saffron in 1 tbsp rose water
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1 tbsp butter
Salt to taste
1 tsp vegetable oil

Instructions

1 Break vermicelli into small pieces. Dry-toast in a pot until light golden, stirring constantly.
2 Add ghee, sugar, cardamom, and saffron-rose water mixture. Pour in enough hot water to just cover noodles.
3 Cook on medium heat, stirring gently, until water is absorbed and noodles are tender. Fluff with a fork.
4 Beat eggs with a pinch of salt. Heat butter in a non-stick skillet and make a thin flat omelette.
5 Mound the sweet vermicelli on a plate and drape the folded omelette on top. Serve warm.

Did You Know?

Balaleet perfectly captures the UAE's position at the crossroads of cultures — the noodles came from Indian traders, the saffron from Iran, and the cardamom from South Asia.