~367 cal · 10g protein · 42g carbs · 18g fat (estimated, per serving)
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Golden sweet vermicelli topped with a thin omelette
🇦🇪 Dubai
Balaleet is the Emirati morning contradiction everyone loves: sugary, rosewater-scented saffron noodles crowned with a plain egg omelette, sweet and savory in the same forkful. It appears at Eid breakfasts and lazy weekend mornings across the UAE.
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Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
Ingredients
Serves 3 —
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8 oz vermicelli (thin wheat noodles), broken
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1/3 cup sugar
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a pinch saffron
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1/2 tsp cardamom
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1 tsp rosewater
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3 tbsp butter or ghee
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3 eggs (for the omelette top)
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optional rose petals or pistachio, to garnish
Instructions
1
Toast the broken vermicelli in the butter until golden.
2
Add water to just cover, the sugar, saffron, and cardamom; simmer until the noodles are tender and the liquid is nearly gone.
3
Stir in the rosewater and let it rest, covered.
4
Cook the eggs (or chickpea batter) into a thin, plain omelette.
5
Mound the sweet vermicelli and lay the omelette over the top. Garnish and eat — sweet and savory in every bite.
Emirati breakfast tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers — know your destination
📍
Dubai. Where breakfast can be saffron vermicelli with egg.
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United Arab Emirates. Pearl-diving coast turned crossroads of the Gulf table.
🌍
Asia. From street-cart woks to slow monastery kitchens.
The story behind this dish is up top — worth a read while the pot works.
👩🍳
Richard Moore & Kelsey Tucker
Recipes cooked, tested, and researched by the creators of Spin the Globe. How we build our recipes →
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