In any cuisine, national dishes play the "first fiddle". In Jewish cuisine, such a violin is rightfully considered a dish - falafel. Many people think that this is a version of hummus. In part, this is true. Falafel deserves special attention for many qualities. You can taste this dish in Israel at almost every step. Locals have long attributed it to the fast food genus. These are chickpea balls in pita, with vegetables and tahini, with hummus. The taste is simply unreal. Doubt? Then it's worth trying once.
Content
grams of sauerkraut
Not everyone knows where this dish comes from. Although it is often associated with traditional Middle Eastern cuisine. The dish is based on chickpeas (it is also called Turkish peas). This plant culture itself has been known to people for several millennia.
Falafel is a delicious and fragrant dish in the form of chickpea balls fried in oil. Garlic is put as a seasoning. Coriander and various spices are also used. The balls are placed in the pita. Falafel combined with other dishes. These can be various salads, pickles, chips, the dish itself is poured with tahini. For one serving of a delicious snack, you will have to pay from ten to twenty shekels. The price may vary slightly depending on the distance of the food point from the city center.
Согласно одной из легенд, фалафель изобрели потомки древних египтян, которые не относились к арабскому поселению Египта. Фалафель настолько сытное блюдо, что им можно заменить мясное блюдо, например, в пост.
How is it customary to eat falafel?
The peak of popularity of this dish can be attributed to the Internet, when vegetarians introduced it into their diet. The dish can be eaten on its own or combined with vegetables and cold appetizers. There is a set of rules for serving the table with falafel. So, for example, the French appreciated the spicy taste of falafel with onions and hot sauce. In other countries, such as Greece, falafel is often served with yogurt sauce. Germans like to dip balls in vinegar. But in Holland, the dish is seasoned with mayonnaise. Americans have also tasted the dish, they love chickpea balls made from coarse flour.
Israelis have a special attitude to falafel. They prefer a dish in pita bread or a plate with sliced vegetables, with the addition of hummus.
Falafel – is there any benefit?
The main ingredient in falafel is chickpeas., which does not contain cholesterol. The dish has almost no fats and salts. Traditional chickpea falafel contains vegetable proteins and a whole set of complex carbohydrates, healthy fiber that helps lower blood cholesterol. Beans are added to the dish, and then it becomes especially useful for people with Parkinson's disease due to the content of a special substance, levodopa.
The benefits of falafel are that it contains various trace elements and vitamins. Chickpea balls contain calcium and magnesium, manganese and potassium, zinc and iron, phosphorus. Vitamins A, B and C, as well as folic acid and beta-carotene, are a must. There are 330 kcal per 100 grams of serving.
A lot of oil is used during the preparation of the dish. The balls are fried or deep-fried. The fat content of the product is associated with the addition of oil. If someone finds the dish greasy, then it is better not to fry the balls, but to bake. The baked dish is suitable for diabetics. Some gourmets, in order to get a traditional taste without harm to health, first bake the balls, and then fry them in a minimum amount of oil.
More about cooking
Coming to Israel, tourists buy falafel ready-made. But the locals prefer to stock up on dry mixture in order to quickly cook their favorite balls if necessary.
Falafel, of course, can be found in the cuisine of different countries. But nowhere else is such an aroma of the product felt as in Israel. Everywhere you can find eateries serving falafel.
The dish is prepared quickly, there are no strict rules here. The basis of the recipe - chickpeas - is everywhere. But then variations for every taste begin.
Real Israeli falafel recipe
What we cook from, or traditional ingredients
Need:
- chickpeas (chickpeas),
- whole-grain bread,
- bollocks
- tahini
- pepper sauce,
- spices
- dried greens and herbs,
- salt, vegetable oil.
Chickpeas are pre-soaked in cold water overnight, and in the morning they are crushed to a puree-like state. Then bread soaked in warm water is added to the composition. All this is again mixed to a paste, the rest of the ingredients of the dish are gradually introduced and also mixed thoroughly. At the end, a little oil is added to the mixture. After mixing the ingredients for the last time, you need to put the mixture in the refrigerator for a couple of hours to "reach". From the resulting mass, you need to form balls and fry them in a deep fryer.