Falafel. Stock Image

Falafel is a worldwide recognized Middle Eastern food, it is a common street food or fast food in the Middle East, Traditionally, falafel is made from chickpeas garbanzo beans but also falafels made from lentils, fava beans, white beans... some recipes use combinations of various beans lentils. The ingredients for falafel are chickpeas, scallions, garlic, cumin, coriander, pepper, chopped parsley. chopped cilantro, egg, lemon, salt, baking powder, oil, tomatoes, cucumber, Yogurt Sauce, olive oil.Falafel became popular among vegetarians and vegans as an alternative to meat-based street foods.[4][40] While traditionally thought of as being used to make veggie burgers,[41] its use has expanded as more have adopted it as a source of protein.[42] Falafel is used as a meat substitute in somevegetarian recipes for meatloaf, sloppy joes and spaghetti and meatballs.[43][44]Preparation and variationsFalafel is made from fava beans or chickpeas, or a combination of both.[1] Falafel is usually made with fava beans in Egyptian cuisine, where it most likely originated, with chickpeas in Palestinian cuisine,[1] or just chickpeas or a combination of both in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria and the wider Middle East.[2][1][3][45] This version is the most popular in the West.[2]When chickpeas are used, they are not cooked prior to use (cooking the chickpeas will cause the falafel to fall apart, requiring adding some flour to use as a binder). Instead they are soaked (sometimes with baking soda) overnight, then ground together with various ingredients such as parsley, scallions, and garlic.[2] Spices such as cumin and coriander are often added to the beans for added flavor.[46] The dried fava beans are soaked in water and then stone ground with leek, parsley, green coriander, cumin and dry coriander.[47][48] The mixture is shaped into balls or patties. This can be done by hand or with a tool called an aleb falafel (falafel mould).[10] The mixture is usually deep-fried, or it can be oven-baked.Falafel is typically ball-shaped, but is sometimes made in other shapes. The inside of falafel may be green (from green herbs such as parsley or green onion), or tan. Sometimes sesame seeds are added on top of the falafel before frying it