Falafel

Is there a thread on falafel?

Since the demise of Giant Burger in - Reno - I have been searching for a replacement source of good falafel. Pita Pit is respectable...any other suggestions?

Also, what's a good falafel mix?

munch munch

welcome to roadfood!
the mix i use is fantastic falafel.
hope this helps.
dayle

I like Fantastic Foods falafel mix, too. It's easily available in many grocery stores. But my very favorite is Sadaf brand that's available in Middle Eastern markets. It's nearly as good as what I can make from scratch. And a whole lot easier!

thanks for suggestions. fantastic is the best mix I've found also, but for some reason it's hard to find in the grocery stores I frequent. I'll have to try sadaf if I can find that, too.

Baaahb,

Try Joe's, if you get off at the Neil Road exit on 395, go east about one-half mile, and it will be on your left side.There falafel is pretty good, considering it is Reno. Really good cheeseburgers and fries.

Oh how I would love to have a falafel here in Port Charlotte. I used to have those at least once or twice a week when I lived in the Village ( NYC ). There's nothing like it here.

OK, I'm clueless. What is Falafel?

Here's a link explaining.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falafel

I love it in a pita pocket with a little humus and some tabouli !

I just had my first falafel this past weekend - also my first time at an Israeli restaurant (Sabuddy, located in Scottsdale, AZ)!

On their menu, they describe falafel as "Fried garbanzo bean (chick pea) balls with pressed garlic, cumin, and other spices".

They were a crispy brown on the outside, soft and very tasty inside.

I also had shawarma (spicy rotisserie chicken) on a plate, served with rice, hummus, salad, and all the pita bread you could eat.

Very nice!

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[url]www.dailykitchen.com[/url]

I thought this sign in Amsterdam was funny, because I had absolutely no idea what either Falafel or Shawarma was...but it was suppose to be the best!



Thanks for the Restaurant tip, shilohautumn. I'll have to seek out Sabuddy and give it a try!

Ask Bill O'Reilly ... when he sexually harassed a co-worker at Fox, he told her he wanted to rub her with a 'falafel' ... he meant a loofah. Jackass. In any event, here in Philly a lot of street trucks sell middle eastern food and the quality can be ... inconsistent truck-to-truck.

i like to make my own falafel because
i add a lot of garlic.the last falafel
i got in a restaurant had an unnatural
neon green interior.

quote:

Originally posted by tangerine

Ask Bill O'Reilly ... when he sexually harassed a co-worker at Fox, he told her he wanted to rub her with a 'falafel' ... he meant a loofah. Jackass. In any event, here in Philly a lot of street trucks sell middle eastern food and the quality can be ... inconsistent truck-to-truck.

Not to push it -- well, yes, to push it: http://www.falaphilia.com

Loved the link, Gordon

guys ever try making it from scratch, i mean completely, just give me a day or two and i will post the recipe, no pre-made hocus pocus, everything from scratch and i know it is very simple, having a blender helps. i will post as soon as i get the recipe from the sis in law, she makes it very well, in fact she made it in pakistan, and pakistan is far away from falafels , beleive me.

Also you know thahini, the sesame seed paste that is always used with the falafel sandwiches, i will also post how to make it from scratch, all you need is sesame seeds and some other simple stuff, and again a blender would help less you want to manually mince the stuff.

quote:

Originally posted by saeed1r

guys ever try making it from scratch, i mean completely, just give me a day or two and i will post the recipe, no pre-made hocus pocus, everything from scratch and i know it is very simple, having a blender helps. i will post as soon as i get the recipe from the sis in law, she makes it very well, in fact she made it in pakistan, and pakistan is far away from falafels , beleive me.

garbanzo/chickpeas cook in 45 minutes in a pressure cooker. i usually don't soak them, but some people do. supposedly, it makes them less "gassy". without a pressure cooker, they take about 1-1/2 hours on the stovetop.

quote:

Originally posted by marzsit

quote:

Originally posted by saeed1r

guys ever try making it from scratch, i mean completely, just give me a day or two and i will post the recipe, no pre-made hocus pocus, everything from scratch and i know it is very simple, having a blender helps. i will post as soon as i get the recipe from the sis in law, she makes it very well, in fact she made it in pakistan, and pakistan is far away from falafels , beleive me.

garbanzo/chickpeas cook in 45 minutes in a pressure cooker. i usually don't soak them, but some people do. supposedly, it makes them less "gassy". without a pressure cooker, they take about 1-1/2 hours on the stovetop.

marzsit,

I have a recipe given to me by friends from Jordan, it by far makes the best falafel I have ever had. The chickpeas are NOT cook at all, rather they are soaked for a couple days in cold water. You have to change the water a couple times a day.

Off the top of my head.......

Michael and Shaden's Falafel

2 lbs of chickpeas (soaked as I said above)
Lots of parsley, and garlic, a little lemon juice, a bit of olive oil, one medium sized russet potato grated, a couple tablespoons of salt, a couple good pinches of cayenne, some tahini.....run this all through the Cuisinart until it's kinda ground up fine.

At this point you'll have a ton of Falafel, which is fine cuz it freezes perfectly.

Decide how many Falafels you are gonna make and freeze the rest. Just before you fry the Falafel's, depending on how many you've decided to make, add some baking powder (I can't tell you an exact measurement here, according to Shaden, she adds a teaspoon or so per batch)

Form the Falafel into golf ball sized balls and deep fry them until they are done. Michael says you have to smoosh them a bit before putting them in the pita! Add all the fixings you want and enjoy.

Oh yeah, almost forgot, do not add any baking powder to the Falafel that you freeze, add just before frying!

When I lived in Israel, my friends and I used to frequent the falafel stands quite often as it was cheap and filling... we would get a full pita, with an inch of top ripped off and stuffed with 3-4 balls of falafel, then the stand would have like 10-15 different salads and condimints you could fill the rest of your pita with.. and continue to stuff all the way until you finished... all this plus a soft drink for $1.... I miss those..LOL

I love Falafel!

I stuff them with cucumber slices (the persian kind, small with almost no seeds, very sweet tasting), tomato, pickles, jalapeno peppers sliced thin, green peppers sliced thinly, very thinly sliced lemons, Tahini thinned with a little water, lemon juice, a bit of olive oil, (Shaden has a name for this sauce, I'd call her but she's visiting Israel with her husband just now),

She also makes her own yogurt, and another sauce called Bahrini or something like that......all excellent!

Anyway by the time I've made one sandwich, I end up eating the whole thing like one big Falafel salad!...LOL

Mmmm, falafel. I'm WAY overdue to have some. Iansmom is right; Israel has awesome falafel. I had mine with Maccabee beer, though...
Today I feel pretty good, yesterday I felafel.