How do you like your Falafel?

[Daniel Rogov]

Elie, Hi....

First time I encountered the recipe was in Fez. I now encounter it on a regular basis in the Moroccan shops at the Levinsky Street Market in Tel Aviv as well as in Arab restaurants in the Galillee and on the Golan Heights.

North African/Middle Eastern? Hard to say. As I have written on too many sad occasions, we live in an area where recipes cross borders far more easily than people.

Best,

Rogov

[bottom-dragger]

[, the garlicky grilled octopus sandwich we used to get from a closet-sized shop right near the port (in El-Mina). I still have dreams about that damned sandwich.

ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh

garlicy grilled octopus.

oh man, i'd be all over that.

[FoodMan]

Here's how I like my falafel, this was tonight's dinner

[Pan]

Nice dinner, Elie! Thanks for the pic.

[Pan]

I like my felafel sandwich with tahini, salad, spicy pickles, hot sauce made from scratch, and sometimes hummus and sauerkraut. I get it at Chickpea, my local felafel/shawarma place. They make their own pita, too, and it doesn't get soggy.

[Shiewie]

Yumm! Elie- that looks like a very nice dinner indeed.

I like my falafel sandwiches with tomatoes, parsely and tahini sauce with pickles on the side.

The best falafel sandwich that I've had so far is from Mohamad Ahmad in Alexandria, Egypt - we had to get a quick take-away as we were short of time so I didn't manage to take any pretty pictures. The falafel patty there is perfect - it is hot and crispy on the outside and wonderfully tender once you bite into it. It was heavenly with the juicy tomatoes, soft pita bread and lashings of tahini sauce - even when it was eaten in the van inching our way across town in the traffic jam.

We had 3 falafel sandwiches, 3 gibna beyda (fried white cheese) sandwiches and 1 ful sandwich from Mohamad Ahmad for 10 LE (approximately US$1.60). If anyone is in Alexandria, Mohamad Ahmad's address is 17 El-Shakur St., El Raml Station.

I did manage to get a picture of a falafel maker at work back in Cairo but these falafels were a dissapointment after the ones from Mohamad Ahmad.

[Bash]

Sometimes I like to fry up tiny (cherry tomato) sized falafel balls and then dust them with a little cumin and paprika. A splash of lime right before serving helps get all the flavors going nicely! I serve them up in a big bowl with spicy tahini sauce for dipping. . They make great finger food. The size of the falafels completely changes the texture giving it a good crunch. Oh and beer. Must have beer with this!

[Dim Sim]

Does anyone out there know the difference between falafel made from chick pea and broadbean (fava bean) do they taste very simular,Iwas told the fava bean version is far superior. I like mine with tabbouleh ( not too much) lemon juice, tahini mixed with garlic wrap in warm sort pita bread, alot of places here in Melbourne, Australia serve in pide bread.

[FoodMan]

Does anyone out there know the difference between falafel made from chick pea and broadbean (fava bean) do they taste very simular,Iwas told the fava bean version is far superior. I like mine with tabbouleh ( not too much) lemon juice, tahini mixed with garlic wrap in warm sort pita bread, alot of places here in Melbourne, Australia serve in pide bread.

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Dim Sim, welcome to eGullet!!

To answer your question, yes there is a difference in taste and -IMO- the perfect falafel uses a mixture of both fava and chickpeas (I use 1.5 cups fava and 0.5 cups chickpeas). However it really is a matter of taste, so try both and see which ones you like best.

A question for you, what is "pide" bread??

Elie

[Dim Sim]

Hi Elie, thank you. Pide is also known as turkish flat bread, it has a soft crust and chewy interior, often sprinkled with either nigella or sesame seeds. I will try the addition of fava beans next time I make falafel.

[Baklava Jenny]

The best I've had were the falafel sandwiches that we would make for a neighborhood supper we hosted every other Friday night as a kid.

Mom would make big bowls of hummus a couple days before...we would make a simple salad of romaine, tomatoes, carrots, onions, and radishes. Side dishes would include pickles, mint, and tahini.

Soft pita is a must and I am very picky about that. I would run in and out of the kitchen bringing out fresh platters of falafel.

Good times serving and eating falafel.

We turned many of our friends into falafel fiends. :D

[chefzadi]

Elie, Hi....

First time I encountered the recipe was in Fez. I now encounter it on a regular basis in the Moroccan shops at the Levinsky Street Market in Tel Aviv as well as in Arab restaurants in the Galillee and on the Golan Heights.

North African/Middle Eastern?  Hard to say.  As I have written on too many sad occasions, we live in an area where recipes cross borders far more easily than people.

Best,

Rogov

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Sliced? In Algeria they are quartered lengthwise. Olive oil is optional but I never add it.

[touaregsand]

We went to a local Lebanese place the other night to get dinner for the family. For $18.00 (quite a bargain, everything is made from scratch) I had a falafel sandwich, my husband had the schewerma plate and the kids shared a half roast chicken. Everybody was happy. Our toddler boy ate about half the rice on his papa's plate.

I grew up eating falafels in LA. More often than not the places around here seem to prepare the sandwiches by cutting off a small piece off the top and then stuffing falafel balls inside with a choice of various sauces/condiment. Sort of like the falafel bar that Jason mentioned.

The place we went to last night wraps it in big, fluffy pita bread with tomatoes, parsley and tahini sauce with a side of pickles.

[CharityCase]

Just came back from a trip to NYC, and I should cast my ballot for Mamoun's Falafel, on Bleeker street. There were several falafel/pita establishments on either side of the street but the lineup was longest here, and for good reason.

An adequately-sized sandwich, with tahini, lettuce, onion and tomato and I suspect 4 falafel balls was only $2.00. Definitely one of the best I've had outside of Tel Aviv.

[chefzadi]

Just came back from a trip to NYC, and I should cast my ballot for Mamoun's Falafel, on Bleeker street. There were several falafel/pita establishments on either side of the street but the lineup was longest here, and for good reason.

An adequately-sized sandwich, with tahini, lettuce, onion and tomato and I suspect 4 falafel balls was only $2.00. Definitely one of the best I've had outside of Tel Aviv.

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$2.00???!!

The average price in LA is $4.95-$6.95

[Ore]

Hmmm...

No one has mentioned this yet, so maybe it is more an Israeli thing, or even more a Ramat Gan thing but the best falafel I have had was near my grandmas house on uziel street...i think it is falafel ha' noar and they put a deep fried slice of potato on top of the sandwhich like a crown. I always would ask for more, and regret it at the end cuz it was pure oil soaked potato...but it was also luv!!

I am ashamed to say that my last trip to israel did not yield one falafel sandwhich...although a few time i had Sabich...which is another story all together!

Ciao,

Ore

PS - my falafel has to include:

Tchina, parsley, pickled cabbage salad, NO TOMATOES, pickles, some spicyness (schough) and a touch of amba - some pickled turnip on the side and if there is still room, the filler, israeli salad.

[Jason Perlow]

My ideal fillings in addition to the falafel balls are israeli salad, tehina, hummus, fried eggplant, and cucumber pickles.

A crispy Pita with Falafel is alwasy dissapointing to me as well. These sound very good, what exactly goes into Israeli salad?

Rachel-

I love the Falafel bar idea (I chose to ignore the crispy Pita for now ). I wonder how come we do not have them here in Houston? Maybe I should open one up.

I am a little confused about not being able to eat it neatly though? Even the largest Falafel sandwiches I've had were not harder to eat than a regular burger. Is the falafel not wrapped properly maybe?

Elie

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Elie, since we started using your fantastic Pita bread recipe (and we've tweaked it a bit more with the inclusion of some whole wheat flour, for texture) we haven't had a problem with Felafel sandwiches falling apart -- its those mass produced supermarket pitas that we seem to have this problem with.

[touaregsand]

No one has mentioned this yet, so maybe it is more an Israeli thing

I don't think it's an Israeli thing. I had falafel like this in the SFV, years ago. Maybe 20-25 years ago.

[FoodMan]

My ideal fillings in addition to the falafel balls are israeli salad, tehina, hummus, fried eggplant, and cucumber pickles.

A crispy Pita with Falafel is alwasy dissapointing to me as well. These sound very good, what exactly goes into Israeli salad?

Rachel-

I love the Falafel bar idea (I chose to ignore the crispy Pita for now ). I wonder how come we do not have them here in Houston? Maybe I should open one up.

I am a little confused about not being able to eat it neatly though? Even the largest Falafel sandwiches I've had were not harder to eat than a regular burger. Is the falafel not wrapped properly maybe?

Elie

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Elie, since we started using your fantastic Pita bread recipe (and we've tweaked it a bit more with the inclusion of some whole wheat flour, for texture) we haven't had a problem with Felafel sandwiches falling apart -- its those mass produced supermarket pitas that we seem to have this problem with.

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Jason-

That makes perfect sense. Stale pita is very easy to rip, and it does not roll well at all. I try to buy mine fresh from a middle eastern bakery/deli here and freeze it. I take out one pita at a time and defrost for a few seconds in the microwave resulting in soft pliable and sturdy bread. A frozen 2-week old pita is much better than a two day old "fresh" one . I've never tried freezing pita made from my recipe though. Have you?

Elie

[Jason Perlow]

Nope, we haven't frozen any yet. They don't last very long.

[Pam R]

I just had falafel for dinner - As a last minute thing, everything was picked up at the grocery store, but the sandwich was made in a pita-pocket (I've never seen them toasted before) and had lettuce, Israeli salad (cucumber, tomato & red onion with garlic, s&p and vinegar because I forgot to get a lemon), hotsauce and hummus (I forgot to get techina). I also like it with tzatziki.

My favorite thing on falafel, which I have only had in Israel is s tempura/breaded cauliflower.

An Israeli opened a falafel restaurant / diner here... calls it The Falafel Place and he serves an Israeli Sandwich which includes fries and a Canadian which includes sweet potato fries - both good additions.

As soon as Passover is over and I have some time I will make my own pita, because you can't buy any good ones here, and do everything from scratch.

[Hector]

the best falafel is moist inside and served in thin fresh khobz or liba-bread, with cucumbers, pickled whole chillies, chopped cilantro, chopped tomatoes, pickled sliced cucumbers, a pickled purple middle-eastern bitter vegetable that I've never knew what it was, some kind of yogurt-garlic sauce, some kind of chile-sauce, some kind of houmous with tahini.

Arabic feta-style cheese is good too, as a nice addition...

this is the great falafel that I purchase at the middle eastern immigrant's vendors in the suburbs of the swedish city of Malmö very often - there's always almost a mayonaise sauce in the falafel here to, but I'll guess it's there because the falafel has to reach the scandinavian tastebuds.

Döner-Kebab, Börek, French Fries, Ayran, is sold at these little places too.

[Behemoth]

a pickled purple middle-eastern bitter vegetable that I've never knew what it was,

Most likely turnip.

By the way, do turnips exist in Sweden? In Germany no one knew what I was talking about. I had to substitute rutabaga. (aka, er, swede...? )

Edited April 5, 2005 by Behemoth (log)

[Hector]

a pickled purple middle-eastern bitter vegetable that I've never knew what it was,

Most likely turnip.

By the way, do turnips exist in Sweden? In Germany no one knew what I was talking about. I had to substitute rutabaga. (aka, er, swede...? )

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No we don't have them, allthough rutabagas and parsnips are plentiful!! I don't even know the swedish word for "turnip" and didn't know what it looks like.. til I've googled on them now, and it's the falafel vegetable!

[chromedome]

How do I like my falafel? On the street, half-cut, in Halifax <sigh>. Fresh pita from Fancy Lebanese Bakery, decent falafel from any number of places, nice garlicy tahini, some of that "Israeli salad" (I never heard it called that, but that's what it is), some pickles, and of course it has to sit on top of a ridiculous quantity of local craft brew from the Granite Brewery or Propellor Brewery. And I have to have it down by the waterfront, somewhere near the Maritime Museum.

Now I'm gonna cry. I'm so f*g homesick...