madbuy

Well here in the Middle East which includes Israel, Palestine, Gaza, Lebanon and in Jordan we do have 1 very specific plant called Zaatar and it has nothing to do with the names you mentioned. Do you have pictures of the plants you are saying that meant to be related?

Hi Perri, Respect! you've really found one of Israels last real Authentic source for Spices: Levinski (next is Jerusalem), but don't buy Zaatar there! I looked everywhere and it's all crap! But you can get there very good prices for other normal and Arabic Spices or Grains like Hummus and Fava Beans in Wholesale and also the best Sunflower Seeds in Town. I also highly recommend the various Olives and the Olive Oil you buy there in ugly looking refilled water bottles. It is not fancy but it is standard to be cold pressed, first Press and obviously extra virgin, which is THE BEST. It is though kind of dangerous to walk around Levinski and co. after dark since all the junkies hang out there since it is very near to the Tachana Merkazit (central Bus Station).

Hi! If you are planning to be successful with Falafel in your business then do it the isreali way: 1. Take 1 x 500 bag of dried Chickpeas (Not Canned) 2. Pour warm water with 1 Teaspoon of Bicarb in a bowl to cover them, and consider that the chickpeas will grow so use enough water to ensure that the won’t grow over the water level. 3. After 4-6 hours pour the water out, wash the bicarb away and get the following ingredients ready: • 1 Big bunch of parsley or even 2 (you can’t take too much) • a quarter a bunch of fresh Coriander (or more, depending on you) • 2-3 large onions • Optional but I love it: 4-5 garlic cloves 4. (hand) mince everything but not to small. Important trick: don’t Mince the ingredients one at a time. Do 1 hand full chickpeas then a few parsley stems in-between, then 1-2 quarter of an onion, then again 1 hand chickpeas, parsley, coriander and so on. That way the chickpeas color very nicely green and the mixing becomes much easier, because the onion juices clean out the chickpea mass. If you don’t have a mincer then use a kitchen mixer, but in that case don’t mix too long so that all the pieces are about the size of lentils or rice 5. Then continue and mix the lot with these ingredients: • VERY IMPORTANT: 2 (tea)cups corn flour so the falafels don’t fall apart which happens to many that don’t know • 1 table spoon Cumin • 1.5 teaspoons turmeric • 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper • 1.5 teaspoons fresh ground nutmeg • 1.5 teaspoons black pepper • 1 table spoon salt (or more—please check be licking your fingers later while mixing the lot) secret: some people use here 2 table spoons of quality chicken stock for more meat taste but tell anyone ? 6. Heat up the deep fryer or highly with oil filled pan to about 190-200 Degrees (Celsius) or the stove on full heat 7. And your ready to go! 8. Have a little bowl of water next to the falafel mix so that when the falafel scoop get to dirty that you can wash it in-between—but not to often! And use a table spoon to fill the scoop tightly and to get a rounded top. 9. Please be careful when flicking the balls into the hot oil, but be fast as well so that as many falafels as possible can fry simultaneously and save you a lot of time. I hope that my description is understandable and can help you get the best falafels in town! Please don’t rely to much on the spices amounts I wrote (spoons etc.) and count on your own measurements and taste before adding more by licking your fingers from the falafel juices in the mix Ah one more Tip: keep mixing the water that came from the onions and all back in the mix when it stood a for while and do not pour it away. Contact me if you also need some tips in making the best home made Pitas, Tahini, Hummus and pickles to have THE Perfect Falafel Pita Pocket.

very well concluded Rebecca, Israel isn't what it used to be 20 years ago. Now that the USD has gone so low everybody is fighting for survival here. The avarage Israeli pays 60% of his earning only for rent, and if they have a car then it really makes you wonder how they do it. Perri: PM me if you ever need help finding something or any other info

Hi Rebecca, I was surprised myself. All my life I have been making Mana'ish with these commercial Zaa'tars, and I was satisfied, because I never knew anything else--not all have citric acid, you are right, but you can't taste the parsley if they put 1 part on 5 parts Thyme. The Sumac is a very expensive Spice and is in the border to Lebanon available fresh from the tree. It becomes much much redder than the one I used to buy (which was also dark red/purple) when you grind it yourself. If you have a microscope you could see different particle shapes which is proof that you have a mix--just like most people. 100% Sumac looks like tiny beads with a crack in them--just like tiny Pacman figures without long shaped stripes and thin strings in between. Check it out! You can know that you have real Zaatar if it tastes raw the same as cooked. Most Zaatars I tasted in their raw powder form straight from the package hardly had taste the first few seconds, but when you baked or cooked them then they were great as well. But the real Zaatar tastes just like a freshly baked Manushi smells when u have the fresh uncooked powder in your mouth immediately. BTW I love Medjadara as well!! Do you eat it with Arabic salad, cabbage salad or just plain yogurt? Ron

I went last week to Yaffo (also called Jaffa)--one of the oldest cities in Israel, where you can find the best food in the middle east (they say) searching for 100% real zaatar with no luck..They had "Zaatar" alright, or at least it looked like it and it is also the only thing people can get that is called Za'atar on the title of the package. I've tried before expensive Supermarket Zaatar, or one from an original Spice shop, But if you can read Hebrew or Arabic, then you can find in the ingredients on the back of the package: PARSLEY AND CITRIC ACID!!!! I WAS IN SHOCK!! For the first time I have realized that I NEVER ATE REAL ZATAR although I was on the source. Real Zaatar is not made with Citric Acid. The original recipe includes Sumac for the sour taste. And THE PARSLEY!?!?!? IS JUST TO GET CHEAP VOLUME! Grose! Therefore I have decided to make it myself. I even got fresh Zaatar, a special Zaatar plant (Majorana syriaca) and not Thyme as many think, Authentic (relativley expensive) Sumac from the north Lebanon Border (grape looking/Red) and even grind that myself, because I even heard that most Sumac u get are mixed with something red to win on volume -- because you can only trust what you make yourself from scratch.

ok guys I really need to get some facts clear here. I am an Israeli and nobody in the whole world knows how to make better Falafel except for some friends of ours in New York *Falafel King 1: DO NOT COOK THE CHICKPEAS!!! 2: who is in a hurry can use canned beans but that is just baaaHH: ! 3: it is ok to mix Fava Beans if u really can get the REAL HUGE so called FOOL instead of those little reddish beans I have seen on some people using--only the real fool can give the Falafel balls an extra BITE but I personally like pure chickpea Falafel because I like rather the taste of the whole Pita sandwich, salads pickles and Tahini mixed as 1 taste instead of having a strong Falafel herby taste--for those using any supermarket fava beans could might as well use yellow split peas, lentils or any similar Beans as cheap Volume. The first one who ever did it was just saving money but the Idea sounded interesting because Fava Beans are anyway famous in our Kitchen for the Hummus similar Paste called just like the bean=fool (with loads of Cumin) ORIGINAL LEBANESE FALAFEL IS MADE LIKE THIS: and don't copy Israeli Falafelias because most of them are cheaters and to save money and time, many of the little ones use only Chicken stock instead of all the other Herbs and spices. Chicken Stock also has a bit green parsley in it--perfecto for the pocket-thats a Falafel that looks yellow inside instead of shiny glowing green! You need 1 KG dried Chickpeas small hand full fresh coriander *about 5-6 stems depending on u HUGE AMOUNT OF PARSLEY (ABOUT 3 LARGE BUNCHES) 4 LARGE ONIONS SALT, CUMIN, NUTMEG OPTIONAL: GARLIC cornflour 1. You soak chickpeas with a tiny little bicarb (soda) powder for 2- max 5 hours in a cool shady place--AND DO NOT USE HOT WATER--ONLY COLD 2. drain the chickpeas and (hand) Grind them TOGETHER WITH THE Onions AND FRESH HERBS--That colors the chickpeas really greeeen!! This is the most important step--the mixed grinding of chickpeas parsley and coriander make the mix very green! please leave it chunky and DO NOT MAKE A FINE PUREE 3. You add on every KG Chickpeas 2-3 Cups of Cornflour *Gluten free 4. spices and then you mix it all together. 5. you heat up the oil to 160-170 Degrees *not max!! use 1 level before the max on your stove or hot plate or deep fryer. 6. Get yourself a REAL FALAFEL SCOOP on my website Madbuy 7. have a cup of water on the side to always wash out the scoop every 5-10th time to let next balls slip off better in the hot oil--but be careful with water close to the oil 8. well.... i guess thats where i need to show you how to bake a Pita and prepare fresh Tahini so get in touch Regards, Ron