Falafel is a delicious fried chickpea dish that originated in the Middle East.
It is made with chickpeas, onions, garlic and spices. The word falafel derives from the Arabic word “filfil,” meaning pepper, due to its hot and spicy taste.
These ingredients combine to make a tasty, crispy ball that can be eaten as an appetizer or in a sandwich wrap.
You can find it served on a pita bread, with tahini sauce and vegetables, or as an appetizer at many restaurants.
However you enjoy your falafel, there are some foods that simply go great with this traditional dish.
Hummus is made from cooked garbanzo beans and has been eaten since ancient times! It’s perfect for dipping your falafel into while trying to save room for other dishes like our next suggestion…
- Pita Breads
Pitas are just one of those things that goes well with anything! They’re soft and warm and there isn’t an easier way to make a sandwich.
Plus, they’re a great vehicle for picking up all those juicy juices from your falafel.
Falafels are traditionally served in pita bread, but they can also be served on top of rice or wrapped in cabbage leaves.
Stuffed grape leaves are another option for what to eat with your falafel. They’re typically made by stuffing the leafs with rice and meat and then steaming them until cooked through.
So next time you’re craving this tasty dish, try pairing it with one of these foods! You won’t regret it.
Where did falafel originate?
Falafels were originally created in the Middle East sometime around 500 BC.
Originating from Egypt, it has become a staple food for countries across Africa and Asia.
The word “falafel” originates from the Arabic word meaning “spoon”. This name dates to the time before utensils were used for eating in Arab culture.
It is typically eaten as a sandwich or wrapped in pita bread with various toppings such as tahini sauce, hummus, pickles and vegetables.
When we look at the dish from a strictly culinary perspective, falafel is an important ingredient in any Egyptian meal.
It’s served as part of meze (an assortment of appetizers), or in salads such as fattoush salad, Israeli salad and Arab salad.
In Israel there are popular variations on this dish made by replacing chickpeas with beans like broad bean paste and fava beans to create sabich tacos.
Falafel resemble corn tortillas around an eggplant/chickpea mixture topped off with tahini sauce, hummus, pickles, vegetables and hardboiled eggs – all wrapped up in paper thin slices of avocado leaves that make for easy eating without utensils.
In Israel there are popular variations on this dish made by replacing chickpeas with beans like broad bean paste and fava beans to create sabich tacos.
It resemble corn tortillas around an eggplant/chickpea mixture topped off with tahini sauce, hummus, pickles, vegetables and hardboiled eggs – all wrapped up in paper thin slices of avocado leaves
However, it did not gain popularity until after World War II when immigrants from Palestine and Syria brought their dish to Europe and North America.
Make the tahini sauce
Falafel is one of my favorite foods. I love it in all its forms, from fried to baked.
For those who have visited Israel, falafel may be one of your favorite dishes and for good reason.
The fried patties are made from ground chickpeas or fava beans and usually served with tahini sauce.
The best part about this recipe is that you can make the tahini sauce while cooking your falafel so that everything comes together at once.
Start by adding some oil to a pan over medium heat and then add the garlic cloves.
Once the garlic is nice and browned, add in all your spices except for the cumin because that one you’ll add at the end according to taste preference.
Next, smash up roasted red peppers with a fork or use a food processor if you’re feeling fancy.
Add this along with 2 tablespoons water into the pot as well as some lemon juice (about 1 tablespoon).
Cook everything together until it starts looking kind of dry-ish on top and then blend it together using an immersion blender.
Once the sauce is blended, add in your cooked chickpeas and cumin and cook for a few minutes more before serving with chopped parsley or some yogurt on top.
You can also buy ready-made tahini at most grocery stores or make your own by blending together sesame seeds, lemon juice, garlic cloves, salt and olive oil until smooth.
How do you eat falafel without pita?
Falafel is a delicious Middle Eastern appetizer made of deep-fried balls or patties made from ground chickpeas, fava beans, or both.
It can be served hot or cold and eaten with salads, vegetables, sauces like tahini (sesame seed sauce), hummus (chickpea dip) and yogurt.
However this tasty dish is traditionally served in a pita bread which may not be available for vegetarians and those who are gluten intolerant.
In these cases you can still enjoy falafel by using a lettuce leaf to wrap it instead.
You can also try some of these other ideas:
- Mix falafel with rice and chickpeas to create a tasty vegetarian meal.
- Make a quick salad by tossing together quinoa, cherry tomatoes, cucumber chunks and chopped fresh parsley for the dressing. Serve it with hot or cold baked falafels on top.
- Add pieces of fried eggplant to the mixture before frying it up for a vegan alternative that is still high in fiber content but low in fat.
- Serve your delicious pita breads as an appetizer served alongside hummus dip made from roasted red pepper, cumin seed paste (hummus), tahini sauce, lemon juice and garlic cloves for dipping.
- Try your falafel with a refreshing cucumber and yoghurt sauce. You can also enjoy this cold by adding some mint to it as well.
- Carrot Falafels with Tahini Sauce and Cucumber Yogurt Dip
- Spicy Tomato Chickpea Falafels with Lemon, Mint, And Feta Cheese.
- Vegan Garlic Almond Spirals Recipe: Roasted garlic is blended in a food processor with ground almonds and rolled into thin spirals that bake up crispy without frying or oiling.
They’re the perfect vegan side dish to serve alongside your vegetarian dinner.
Is falafel bad for weight loss?
If you’re on a weight loss diet and are considering eating some falafel.
It might be worth knowing that this dish has been found to be one of the most calorie-dense foods in the world.
It’s for this reason that many people who follow restricted diets avoid it altogether.
With recent research indicating that processed foods are linked to obesity rates in America today.
Due to their relatively low cost but high calorie count we wanted to find out more about whether this popular street food could have any negative effects on your diet goals.
Falafel is fried and high in fat.
It can be made to have less oil by using baking or deep frying it, but the truth remains that this dish can’t help with weight loss when eaten often.
The best thing about eating falafel is that if done right such as baked or deep-fried for lower calorie versions.
You can bring the fat content down to a reasonable level and keep yourself healthy.
Unfortunately, it’s not just about what you eat but how you cook your food as well.
When cooking at home, you control the amount of fat that goes into your meal by adjusting how much oil or butter you use when frying or baking .
Something which isn’t possible at restaurants such as Chipotle or Moe’s where their falafels are cooked in vegetable oil and therefor contain more fat.
If you’re going to eat it, just be aware of how many calories and grams of fat are in each serving.
If you’re not careful about how much you eat, chances are good that your body will hold onto more pounds than it sheds.
