Falafel

Several articles have been written about this popular Middle Eastern dish in recent years as to where this dietary staple comes from and, perhaps more important, to whom it belongs. Egyptians, Lebanese, Syrians, and Israelis have all laid claim to being the originators of this dish. The term “falafel” is derived from the Arabic Filfil, which means “pepper.”

Falafel originated in the Egyptian port city of Alexandria. The original recipe for falafel differs from its modern-day interpretation in that it originally called for ground-up fava beans (often referred to as broad beans in Western recipes, vicia faba in Latin), lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper, and a pinch of flour for binding, then deep-fried in oil. It is served with tahini, a sesame seed–based dipping sauce.