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 Egypt, with chickpeas in Israel and Palestine,^[1] or either just chickpeas or a combination of both in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. The adoption of the Palestinian chickpea version of the falafel into Israeli cuisine and its identification as Israeli is contentious, and has led to accusations of cultural appropriation.^[2]