Name: Bajia (Yemenite Falafel)
Yield: Makes 40 balls
Cuisine: Syrian
Ingredients: 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped; ⅔ cup parsley, leaves only; Pinch of ground cloves; ½ teaspoon baking soda or 1 teaspoon baking powder; Oil, for frying; 3 tablespoons water; ⅔ cup cilantro, leaves only; 4 garlic cloves, peeled; 2 teaspoons salt; 4 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour or breadcrumbs; 1 teaspoon ground coriander; 2 teaspoons ground cumin; ½ teaspoon ground cardamom; 2 cups (400 grams) dried chickpeas; Tahini Sauce; 1 teaspoon sweet paprika; 1 teaspoon dried chile powder

Preparation info

Makes
40
balls

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

On the Hummus Route

By Ariel Rosenthal , Orly Peli-Bronshtein and Dan Alexander

Published 2019

About

The Yemenite immigrants who arrived in Israel in the 1950s and opened falafel stands, seasoned their falafel with spices such as cardamom, cloves, and chile peppers, in addition to the more typical cumin and coriander. They placed the deep-fried nuggets inside fluffy pita pockets and drizzled plenty of tahini and zhug (Yemenite hot sauce) on top.