Falafel restaurant in Nazareth, Israel. Nazareth (ˈnæzərəθ (נָצְרַת Hebrew Natz'rat or Natzeret, الناصرة an-Nāṣira or an-Naseriyye) is the capital and largest

Falafel balls

Falafel (Arabic: فلافل‎ falaafil (help·info), Hebrew: פָלָאפֶל‎; also known in Egypt and Sudan as ta'meya, Arabic طعمية), is a fried ball or patty made from spiced fava beans and/or chickpeas. Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. Sudan (officially the Republic of Sudan) ( السودان al-Sūdān is a country in northeastern Africa. A spice is a dried Seed, Fruit, Root, Bark or vegetative substance used in Nutritionally insignificant quantities as a Food additive Vicia faba, the broad bean, fava bean, faba bean, horse bean, field bean, tic bean is a species of The chickpea ( Cicer arietinum) (also garbanzo bean, Indian pea, ceci bean, bengal gram, chana, kadale kaalu, It is a popular form of fast food in the Middle East, where it is also served as a mezze (snack or tapas). The Middle East is a Subcontinent with no clear boundaries often used as a synonym to Near East, in opposition to Far East. Meze or mezze ( Arabic, مَزة, Greek mezé (μεζέ Bulgarian: мезé / mezé, Turkish

The word "falafel" is the plural of the Arabic word فلفل (filfil), meaning "pepper. "^[1] Variant spellings in English include felafel and filafil.

Falafel is generally served in pita bread, either inside the pita, which acts as a pocket, or wrapped in a flat pita. Pita (also called and less commonly known as pitta or pide (Turkish pitka (Bulgarian and pronounced "pitta" in Greek is an often round In many countries, falafel is a popular street food or fast food. Street food is food obtainable from a streetside vendor, often from a makeshift or portable stall. Fast food is the term given to food that can be prepared and served very quickly The falafel balls, whole or crushed, may be topped with salads, pickled vegetables and hot sauce, and drizzled with tehina (tahini). Tahini, or sesame paste, is a paste of ground Sesame seeds used in cooking Falafel balls may also be eaten alone as a snack or served as part of a mezze. Meze or mezze ( Arabic, مَزة, Greek mezé (μεζέ Bulgarian: мезé / mezé, Turkish During Ramadan, they are sometimes eaten as part of an iftar, the meal which breaks the daily fast after sunset. Ramadan or Ramazan ( Arabic: رمضان Ramaḍān) is a Muslim religious observance that takes place during the ninth month of the Islamic Iftar ( Arabic: إفطار refers to the evening meal for breaking the daily fast during the Islamic month of Ramadan.

Falafel has been part of the diet of Arabs and Mizrahi Jews for centuries. The araB gene Promoter is a bacterial promoter activated by e L-arabinose binding Mizrahi Jews or Mizrahim, ( also referred to as Edot HaMizrach (Communities of the East are Jews descended ^[2] It is also considered a national food in Israel where it has become a common part of the Israeli diet. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. Israeli cuisine is a very diverse cuisine consisting of local dishes as well as foods brought to Israel by immigrants from around the world ^[3] Now a popular street food in many countries around the world, it is sometimes offered as a vegetarian alternative to Döner kebab. Vegetarianism is the practice of a diet that excludes Meat (including game and slaughter by-products Fish (including Shellfish and other sea Döner kebab ( Turkish döner kebap, literally "turning roast" is a Turkish national dish made of Meat cooked on a vertical spit

History

Falafel originated in Egypt, where it was first made with fava beans as the base. This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. Vicia faba, the broad bean, fava bean, faba bean, horse bean, field bean, tic bean is a species of As the dish migrated northwards to Syria and Palestine, chickpeas were introduced instead. Syria ( سوريّة or) officially the Syrian Arab Republic (Arabic ar الجمهورية العربية السورية Palestine is a name which has been widely used since Roman times to refer to the region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. The chickpea ( Cicer arietinum) (also garbanzo bean, Indian pea, ceci bean, bengal gram, chana, kadale kaalu, Falafel was consumed by Arabs of all religious denominations, including Jews in Egypt and Syria. ^[2]

After hundreds of thousands of Jews emigrated to Israel from Arab countries in the 1950s, falafel became an Israeli emblem. The proliferation of falafel stands, operated in particular by Jews from Yemen, made "it possible to incorporate elements like falafel without referring to them as Palestinian. Yemen ( Arabic: اليَمَن al-Yaman officially the Republic of Yemen ( Arabic: الجمهورية اليمنية al-Jumhuuriyya Palestinian cuisine consists of foods from or commonly eaten by the Arabs of historical Palestine — which includes those living in the Palestinian territories "^[2] A popular Israeli song composed by Dan Almagor in 1958, "And We Have Falafel," included a line claiming falafel as an exclusive Israeli provenance. The music of Israel is a unique combination of Jewish and non-Jewish music traditions that have come together over the course of a century to create a distinctive musical Dan Almagor (1935-) is an Israeli Playwright who has adapted and translated over a hundred plays for the Hebrew stage including Shakespeare's " The Comedy ^[2] By the 1970s, Jewish cookbooks included recipes for falafel that made no mention of its Arab origins, leading many Palestinians and Arabs to resent the cultural appropriation of this iconic food. Palestinian people or Palestinians ( الشعب الفلسطيني, ash-sha`b al-filasTīni; الفلسطينيون, al-filasTīnīyyūn Cultural appropriation is the adoption of some specific elements of one culture by a different cultural group ^[4]

Some Israelis and Jews have since recognized the controversy. For example, Ammiel Alcalay, a Jewish professor of Middle Eastern culture, has described the Israeli adoption of falafel as "total appropriation" and Dan Almagor notes that if he were composing his song on falafel today, he would now include a line mentioning the dish's Arab origins. Arab cuisine is defined as the various regional cuisines spanning the Arab World from Iraq to Morocco to Somalia to Yemen, and incorporating ^[2]

Ingredients

Falafel is made from fava beans or chickpeas or a combination of the two. Vicia faba, the broad bean, fava bean, faba bean, horse bean, field bean, tic bean is a species of The chickpea ( Cicer arietinum) (also garbanzo bean, Indian pea, ceci bean, bengal gram, chana, kadale kaalu, The Egyptian variation uses exclusively fava beans, while other variations may only use chickpeas. Falafel made exclusively from chickpeas became popular in Israel because of favism, a potentially fatal genetic disease among some Mediterranean Jews causing a a hemolytic reaction to fava beans. Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency is an X-linked recessive Hereditary disease characterised by abnormally low levels of Glucose-6-phosphate Vicia faba, the broad bean, fava bean, faba bean, horse bean, field bean, tic bean is a species of Unlike many other bean patties, in falafel the beans are not cooked prior to use. Instead they are soaked, possibly skinned, then ground with the addition of a small quantity of onion, parsley, spices (including cumin), and bicarbonate of soda, and deep fried at a high temperature. Parsley ( Petroselinum crispum) is a bright Green, biennial Herb, also used as Spice. Sesame seeds may be added to the balls before they are fried; this is particularly common when falafel is served as a dish on its own rather than as a sandwich filling.

Recent culinary trends have seen the triumph of the chickpea falafel over the fava bean falafel. Chickpea falafels are served across the Middle East, and have been popularized by expatriates of those countries living abroad.

Variations

Falafel production

Outside the Middle East a Greek-style pita bread is often used as a pocket and stuffed with the different ingredients; in Arab countries a round khubz bread, 'eish' in Egypt, is halved, and the two resulting round pieces are used to create a cigar-shaped wrap. Pita (also called and less commonly known as pitta or pide (Turkish pitka (Bulgarian and pronounced "pitta" in Greek is an often round Khubz (Ar خبز) is an Arabic Flatbread, which is part of the local diet in many countries of the Arabian Peninsula. In Arab countries, hummus (chickpeas pureed with tahini) is rarely an ingredient. For the biological matter in soil see Humus; for the band see Humus (band. Tahini, or sesame paste, is a paste of ground Sesame seeds used in cooking The usual sauce is tahini (sesame seed paste) thinned with water and lemon. The most common salad ingredients are tomato and parsley. In Lebanon parsley is mixed with chopped mint leaves. Lebanon (ˈlɛbənɒn Arabic: ar لبنان Lubnān) officially the Republic of Lebanon or Lebanese Republic (ar الجمهورية اللبنانية It is also common in Syria and Lebanon to add pickles; the two canonical ones are pickled turnip, colored pink with beetroot, and pickled cucumber. Recently, there has been a new "filled" falafel, its center usually consisting of ground meat or minced onions or a boiled egg. These fillings are wrapped by the uncooked falafel mixture, and then deep fried.

The salads or the pita itself may be seasoned with sumac or salt; alternatively, these may be sprinkled on top. Sumac (ˈʃuːmæk or /ˈs(juːmæk/ also spelled sumach) is any one of approximately 250 species of Flowering plants in the Genus Rhus Salt is a Dietary mineral composed primarily of Sodium chloride that is essential for Animal life but toxic to most land plants In Syria, sumac is widely used.

Related dishes

• In the cuisine of Karnataka, ambode is a fried ball of soaked chickpeas. The cuisine of Karnataka comprises diverse Vegetarian and non-vegetarian cuisines Falafel (فلافل; פלאפל also known in Egypt and Sudan as ta'meya Arabic طعمية is a fried ball or patty made from Spiced Fava It is usually flattened and pan-fried, and served with chutney. Alternatively, in South Indian cuisine, paruppu vadai is used to refer to flattened, fried balls (or fritters) of a mix of lentils and chickpeas. South Indian Cuisine is a term used to refer to the cuisines found in the four southern states of India, namely Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka

• In Italian cuisine, there is a chickpea fritter called frittata di ceci; other similar Italian dishes include panelle and farinata. Italian cuisine as a national Cuisine known today has evolved through centuries of social and political changes with its roots traced back to 4th century BC Panelle (or panelle di ceci) are Sicilian Fritters made from Chickpea flour and other ingredients Farinata (which literally means floured) is a thin crisp Pizza -like Pancake from Liguria, Italy which its variations are eaten

• Acarajé, an Afro-Brazilian street food from the northeastern state of Bahia, are pureed black-eyed peas formed into a ball and then deep-fried in palm oil. Acarajé ( is a dish found in Nigerian and Brazilian cuisine It is traditionally encountered in the northeastern state of Bahia, especially in the city Afro-Brazilian, or Black Brazilian, is the term used to racially categorize Brazilian citizens who are black or Multiracial Street food is food obtainable from a streetside vendor, often from a makeshift or portable stall. Bahia (baˈia is one of the 26 States of Brazil, and is located in the northeastern part of the country on the Atlantic coast The black-eyed pea, also called black-eyed bean, blackeye, 眉豆 (Cant Palm oil is an edible plant oil derived from the Fruit of the Arecaceae Elaeis Oil palm.

Cultural and literary references

• TV personality Bill O'Reilly is nicknamed the Falafel Guy, after mistakenly referring to the loofah sponge as a "falafel" midway through an alleged phone conversation with Andrea Mackris. William James O'Reilly Jr (born September 10 1949 is an American television / radio host, Author, Syndicated columnist, and Andrea May Mackris is a former FOX News Television producer in the United States who accused cable Talk show host Bill O'Reilly of The Luffa or Loofah / Lufah (from Arabic لوف are tropical and subtropical Vines comprising the genus Luffa. William James O'Reilly Jr (born September 10 1949 is an American television / radio host, Author, Syndicated columnist, and Andrea May Mackris is a former FOX News Television producer in the United States who accused cable Talk show host Bill O'Reilly of
• In the popular TV series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, a character portrayed by the actor Paul Norell is known as Falafel, because he is a Falafel vendor. Paul Norell (born February 11, 1952 in London) is an English Actor residing in Auckland, New Zealand.
• In the hit TV series Friends, Rachel's sister Amy, the character portrayed by the actress Christina Applegate mistakes Ross played by David Schwimmer as a Falafel vendor in episode number 224, season 10. Friends was an Christina Applegate (born November 25 1971 is an Emmy Award -winning American actress known for playing Kelly Bundy on the long-running FOX Broadcasting David Lawrence Schwimmer (born November 2 1966 in Astoria, Queens, New York) is an Emmy -nominated American Actor
• John Birmingham wrote the 1994 novel He Died with a Felafel in His Hand, subsequently produced as a play and a film. John Birmingham (born 7 August 1964 is an Australian author Birmingham was born in Liverpool, England and migrated to Australia with his parents in He Died with a Felafel in His Hand is a novel by John Birmingham, first published in 1994 by The Yellow Press (ISBN 1-875989-21-8

References

See also

• Arab cuisine

Bibliography

• Yael Raviv, "Falafel: A National Icon", Gastronomica, Summer 2003, 3:3:20-25. Arab cuisine is defined as the various regional cuisines spanning the Arab World from Iraq to Morocco to Somalia to Yemen, and incorporating Discusses how an Arab dish became "the national food of Israel".