what is falafel and where does it originate from?

Falafel is unarguably middle eastern. It is standard street food in Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, Egypt and Syria. It is made of fava beans (and other ingredients) shaped into plump patties then deep fried. It is not jewish, but might be mistakenly perceived so do the number of Jews who probably eat it in the occupied territories in the middle east.

Falafel is a patty made of ground chick peas that is usually deep fried and served with hummus or tzatiki and sometimes inside of pita bread.

It originated in Egypt but today is a popular food in the Middle East.

Here is a healthier version that is baked:

* 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

* 1/4 cup minced onion

* 2 cloves garlic, minced

* 2 teaspoons ground cumin

* 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

* 1/2 teaspoon salt

* 1/4 cup cilantro leaves

* 1/4 cup parsley leaves

* 2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Combine all ingredients except 1 tablespoon olive oil in the bowl of a food processor. Process for 10 seconds. Stop motor and scrape down sides of bowl, then pulse for another 10 seconds, until all ingredients are well incorporated but mixture is still slightly coarse and grainy. Form mixture into 16 falafel balls and brush with remaining tablespoon olive oil. Bake on a cookie sheet for 20 minutes, flip falafel balls and bake an additional 20 minutes, until falafel balls are crisp and browned.

Falafel is a fried ball or patty made from spiced chickpeas and/or fava beans. Originally from Egypt, falafel is a popular form of fast food in the Middle East, where it is also served as a mezze.

Feeling awful? Have a falafel!

Falafel is basically a deep fried (originally deep fried but nowadays people like healthy food so they try less oil or they bake them but its not the authentic way!) brown ball that is considered as a cheap popular snack on the go in the middle east and later now the rest of the world.

Restaurants serve them as a part of a mezze.

Some claim its jewish but having spent 20 years in the middle east, I can tell you that it's not jewish, it's egyptian/lebanese, however since the israeli's immigrate to the west more, a lot of americans knew the falafel through the jews and hence think its a jewish dish.

it's really no different than hummus, they are both based on mashing or blitzing the chickpeas with spices and seasonning, except that with hummus you dilute it with olive oil and lemon juice to get a more thinner/sauce like consistensy and its served cold, but falafel are served warm.

i love falafel in a pocket of a large pita bread with tahine (sesame paste), lots of salad (tomato, shredded lettuce, onion) or simply to dip it in tahine and have it with marinated olives yuuuuuuuuummmm !

Haifa, palestine

have a look here www.jewishrecipes.org/jewish-foods/falafel.html