Baked Falafel: Light and Delicious

الفلافل الفرنية لذيذة وخفيفة

Have your falafel and eat them, fry-free! Here is a way to make sure the chickpeas you are devouring are fully cooked and hence easier on the digestive system. 


Falafel is a Middle-Eastern snack food well known and loved in most parts of the world. Basically, it is ground chickpeas mixed with herbs and spices, shaped into balls or small patties, and deep-fried. The variety made with fava beans is called ta'miyya (طعمية). It is the favorite snack food in Egypt. Some people, though, prefer to make falafel with a combination of chickpeas and fava beans. Interestingly, falafel in Yemen is called bajiyya باجية,  made with a combination of chickpeas and black-eyed peas (cowpeas), which is lubya in Arabic, and dejer دجر in the Yemeni vernacular (here is a link for how it is made in Yemen).     

Whether from chickpeas, fava beans, cowpeas, or whatever beans, this type of fried snack food has always been a very popular food in the Middle East from olden times: a cheap alternative to meat -- it is  also known as kebab al-fuqara' (كباب الفقراء) 'kebab of the poor;'  and it conveniently replaces meat for Lent meals consumed by fasting Christians. That is how such fried delights -- made with fava beans-- came into being, according to one of the stories, which attributes its beginnings to the ancient Egyptian Copts.                      


In fact, that chickpeas were used to replace meat and eggs during Lent is evident from recipes that survived from medieval times. In the tenth-century Baghdadi cookbook كتاب الطبيخ by Ibn Sayyar al-Warraq (p. 236), a fried disk is made with mashed chickpeas. The same recipe is repeated in fourteenth-century Egyptian cookbook كنز الفوائد (p. 172). Likewise, in the thirteenth-century Andalusian cookbook Anwa' al-Saydala fi Alwan al-At'ima (انواع الصيدلة في الوان الاطعمة), where a similar disc, called isfiriyya اسفرية, is made basically from chickpea flour (p.4). Such meatless dishes were collectively called muzawwarat مزورات, 'false' or 'counterfeit' dishes made to simulate comparable dishes with meat.

The medieval physicians were also of the opinion that such false dishes were fit for the sick because they were believed to be easier to digest than the meat ones.        

Falafel in Iraq was first popularized by the Palestinians who were expelled from their homeland in 1948, and now it has become a favorite street food. However, unlike the rest of the Middle Eastern countries where the falafel sandwich is served rolled in pita bread, the Iraqis usually use sammoun bread (صمون) to stuff the fried balls in it. In my recipe below I used pita bread for convenience, but feel free to use any bread comparable to sammoun in texture such as ciabatta.  

 

Falafel is usually deep fried. To give it a lighter touch, you may bake it and save yourself the trouble of frying. More importantly, you will be quite sure that the chickpeas will be fully cooked, and they will not be as hard on the digestive system. Here is the recipe:     

Baked Falafel

 (Makes about 18 pieces)

3 1/2 cups of boiled chickpeas, or use two 15.5-oz canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained well 

1 cup parsley, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped

1/4 cup fresh mint, coarsely chopped, optional

2 garlic cloves, grated

1/4 cup grated onion
3 tablespoons flour, preferably whole wheat

2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon crushed coriander seeds

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

½ teaspoon chili powder, or to taste

Sesame seeds for coating

Olive oil for brushing
Sumac for sprinkling 

1. Combine and mix all the ingredients (except for the sesame seeds, olive oil, and sumac) in a large bowl. Process the mixture in a food processor, in batches (depending on its size), until smooth. 

2. Form falafel mixture into rounded patties (handle with slightly wetted hands), roll each piece in the sesame seeds, and place it in an oiled cookie sheet.

3. Brush the pieces with olive oil and bake in a preheated oven (400°F), middle shelf, for about 25 minutes, until they nicely crisp and brown. Handle them with care for they will be a bit brittle.     

4. Make falafel sandwiches by arranging three pieces of falafel on a warmed up round of pita bread. Scatter some diced salad vegetables (such as tomatoes and cucumber, or whatever you prefer). Drizzle all with some tahini sauce, made by whipping tahini with lemon juice and water, and season with some salt and grated garlic (if sauce turns out to be thick, add some more water and whip). Sprinkle all lightly with some sumac, and roll up the bread, and enjoy.

You may also serve the falafel without bread: simply arrange the pieces on a platter and serve them with tahini sauce. Also lovely with a dip of pepper jam. 

Lent Dishes

From the Caliphs' Kitchens to Yours

Muzawwarat Recipes from Medieval Baghdad

المزوّرات: وصفات صيامية من بغداد الرشيد

Pureed Fava Beans Dip, Medieval Style

باقلا خضراء مهروسة

Gorgeous medieval Baghdadi dip that will put even hummus to shame.

Next time you are making green dishes in honor of St. Patrick's Day, try this one!

It is no secret that Arab cuisine glorifies meat. No meal is rendered complete without it, even the host's hospitality is gauged by the amount of meat served. This has been the case all along, particularly in pre-modern times when vegetarian dishes were not considered real food. In fact, in medieval times a meat-less dish is called muzawwara (counterfeit) and sometimes kadhdhaba (false). Such dishes were usually offered before the main meat-dish. But they also proved quite handy when someone was sick, as they were believed to be easier to digest. As such, they were tolerated but not sought after. Medieval books preserved for us verses written in frustration by a sick poet who was ordered by his physician to stick to a vegetarian diet:

How can muzawwara my nourishment be?

Eating muzawwara is a falsity!

Vinegar and the trifling vegetable dishes are not for me.

Let the doctor get out of my way!

Say in doctors and medicine faith has gone astray.

Give me! Where is kebab? Where are the fried dishes?

The succulent roasts and the spiced meat? Bring them on! 

                                                 

But most of all, the meatless dishes were in demand among Christians fasting during Lent, and the extant medieval Arab cookbooks do include a good number of them, the most interesting of which may be located in 10th-century cookbook by Ibn Sayyar al-Warraq Kitab al-Tabeekh (كتاب الطبيخ). It dedicates the whole of chapter 46 to such dishes. It is given the title ما يأكل النصارى من الطعام المزور في الصيام (Counterfeit Dishes which Christians Eat during Lent). All made with chard, fava beans, beans, gourd, truffles, purslane, and the like. Some recipes show how to make shrimp and small fish relishes without shrimp and fish, how to make milk with coconut, omelet without eggs, harisa (rice porridge) with leeks instead of meat, or making stews thickened and flavored with ground sesame and almonds instead of meat.

Pureed Fava Beans Dip, Medieval Style

باقلا خضراء مهروسة

Here is a recipe I adapted from Ibn Sayyar al-Warraq's tenth-century cookbook (see my English translation Annals of the Caliphs' Kitchens, Chapter 45, and Delights from the Garden of Eden, p. 132):

You can prepare this dip year round using frozen green fava beans, available at Middle Eastern stores, but also at major super markets (look for it in the Goya frozen vegetables section). 

Note: If using fresh fava beans, blanching them in hot water first will make shelling them a breeze. If using frozen fava beans, dipping them in hot water first will also make the task quite fast and easy.     

2 cups (12 oz) skinned fresh or frozen fava beans (= 1 pound or 3 cups, with skins still on)

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

½ teaspoon crushed coriander seeds

½ cup, finely chopped cilantro 

2 garlic cloves, grated

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon ground cumin

¼ cup lemon juice

½ cup (2 oz) ground pistachio

For garnish: olive oil, olives, and basil or parsley 

1. Put the skinned fava beans in a medium pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to medium, and let them boil gently for about 15 minutes, or until tender. Drain beans and reserve some of the liquid, in case you need it. When beans are cool enough to handle, mash them with a fork. 

2. Sauté onion in oil until it starts to brown. Add coriander and cilantro, and stir briefly. Set aside 2 tablespoons of it for garnish, add the rest to the mashed beans along with garlic, salt, pepper, cumin, lemon juice, and ground pistachio. If mixture looks dry, add a little of the drained liquid in which beans were cooked or some extra lemon juice, to taste.

3. Spread mixture in a shallow bowl, and garnish with the browned onion, olive oil, olives, and basil or parsley.  Serve with warm bread.

 Makes 4 servings