Lebanese Chickpea and Bulgur Salad

Chickpeas are a staple in every Middle Eastern kitchen.  They are extremely versatile and can be used in an endless variety of dishes both as main courses and as side plates.  There is a good reason why chickpeas are so widely used: they are an exceptionally healthy bean which benefit the human body in many ways:

Chickpeas are an incredible source of dietary fiber and we all know that a diet high in fiber is essential to one's digestive health.  In addition, this miracle bean has been shown to lower LDL cholesterol levels (the bad type of cholesterol) and is a great source of iron.  And of course, chickpeas are a wonderful source of protein so vegetarians should most definitely be adding these beans to their diet. 

One of my favorite ways to enjoy chickpeas (other than of hommos, of course) is in a light and simple salad. When I saw a recipe for a chickpea and burgul salad in Claudia Roden's Arabesque I knew I had to give this recipe a try.

Egyptian "Besara" Recipe -- a Wonderful Broad Beans Appetizer

Are you looking for a scrumptious, versatile and super good for you appetizer recipe? If so, look no further than this traditional Egyptian dish made of broad beans, parsley and other fabulous green herbs. This dish calls for the simplest of ingredients and is ridiculously easy to put together -- the best things in life are always the simplest, aren't they?

I think you'll agree with me that besara is positively delightful.

Oh, and we usually serve this cold.
Ingredients:
2 cups broad beans, soaked overnight
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves
1 large handful fresh parsley leaves
1 handful fresh coriander leaves
1/2 handful fresh dill
1 tsp cumin powder
Salt and pepper, to taste

Put all the above ingredients into a saucepan which has about 3 cups of boiling water. Boil the ingredients for about half an hour, until the water mostly evaporates and the beans are cooked. You may need to add more water in the process.

After everything is cooked, leave the ingredients to cool.

Once cooled, add the ingredients to a food processor and process until they become a fine paste with a uniform consistency.

Transfer the paste to a serving dish. You can sprinkle it with caramelized onions if you like. Refrigerate until completely chilled.

Serve with pita bread.

Serves 6

If you liked this recipe then you MUST try:

Baba Ghanouj Dip
The ORIGINAL hommos recipe
Egyptian Felafel

Don't Miss a Recipe!
Subscribe to Nirvana's Kitchen by Email

Egyptian Felafel

Here in Egypt, we call felafel "ta'ameya" and instead of using chickpeas we use split fava beans... It's made and served in so many different ways, but it is always its best when it is FRESH... I hate going into a grocery store or deli and seeing a felafel sandwich or platter that has been sitting there for hours... Felafel is best when it is served the second it is cooked -- it has such a beautiful aroma that to me just screams BREAKFAST. Felafel is truly the perfect breakfast dish -- we have felafel sandwiches for breakfast here all the time... What a wonderful way to start the day.

With just a few ingredients you can make this Middle Eastern dish with little effort at all. Also the paste can be frozen so you can make a lot of it and just defrost it when you want to fry some up.

A healthier cooking option:

Now I know you are going to read the recipe and come to the "frying" part and say wait, isn't your cooking supposed to be "easy, NUTRITIOUS, delicious"? I reaaaaally tried to avoid the frying -- I baked some of them by just brushing each side with a little bit of vegetable oil -- it turned out okay but it lost the nice crispy outer layer that I love and when you bake it for longer to get the crispy edges it gets too dry... The choice is yours but I prefer frying -- you only have to fry it for 2 minutes or so on each side so it doesn't suck up that much oil and the split beans are a GREAT source of protein

Ingredients:
2 pounds split fava beans, soaked overnight
Large handful of fresh parsley leaves
Large handful of fresh coriander leaves
Large handful of fresh dill
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1 egg

There isn't really much preparation to do to this recipe (other than soaking the beans in water overnight). Drain the beans and place them along with ALL the above mentioned ingredients in a food processor. Process until it becomes a fine paste.

In a large frying pan, heat up some vegetable oil and take half a handful of the felafel paste and make it into a small ball in your hand. Flatten the top and bottom and place in the hot oil. Repeat until you have made as much felafel as you desire and freeze the rest of the paste.

Fry until the crust hardens and is brown, for about 2 minutes on each side (more or less depending on how hot the oil is). Keep an eye on these as they will burn quickly!

Remove from the oil and allow them to rest on some kitchen paper to absorb excess oil.

Serve HOT. It goes great with tahini paste, hommos, or baba ghanouj. Serve with some pita bread.

Serves 8

Don't Miss a Recipe!
Subscribe to Nirvana's Kitchen by Email