Falafel

Falafel

Falafel balls
Alternative names	Felafel
Type	Fritter
Course	Meze
Place of origin	Egypt
Region or state	Middle East
Serving temperature	Hot
Main ingredients	Broad beans or chickpeas
Cookbook: Falafel   Media: Falafel

Falafel (/fəˈlɑːfəl/; Arabic: فلافل, [fæˈlæːfɪl] ^ⓘ) is a deep-fried ball or patty-shaped fritter of Egyptian origin, featuring in Middle Eastern cuisine, particularly Levantine cuisines, and is made from broad beans, ground chickpeas, or both.

Falafel is often served in a pita, samoon, laffa, or wrapped in a flatbread known as taboon; "falafel" also frequently refers to a wrapped sandwich that is prepared in this way. The falafel balls may be topped with salads, pickled vegetables, and hot sauce, and drizzled with tahini-based sauces. Falafel balls may also be eaten alone as a snack or served as part of a meze tray (assortment of appetizers).

Falafel is eaten throughout the Middle East and is a common street food. Falafel is usually made with fava beans in Egyptian cuisine, with chickpeas in Palestinian cuisine,^[1] or either just chickpeas or a combination of both in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.^[1][2][3] It is popular with vegetarians worldwide.^[4] The Palestinian chickpea version of the falafel has been adopted into Israeli cuisine, where it features prominently and has been called a national dish of Israel, which Palestinians and other Arabs have criticized and characterized as cultural appropriation.^[1][5]