Yes: you will be able to find falafel in Egypt without any effort, as it is one of the most cooked dishes in the country. And surely you already knew it before, or even you have already tasted it in your place of residence, as it is one of the most common proposals in fast food restaurants based on Middle Eastern gastronomy. However, it will be worth your while to try it to compare the local version with the others, and to evaluate the particularities of its recipe here. We will talk about all of this below.
What is falafel and what does it contain?
Although falafel has become popular thanks to the success of Turkish fast food, whose restaurants never do without this dish on their menus, it is most likely that its origins are precisely in Egypt, although it is debated whether its past dates back to Ancient Egypt or later.
Falafel is shaped like a meatball and, in fact, several falafel balls are usually included in the dish or sandwich. In this case, a battered meatball, for which you can use chickpea flour, wheat flour or breadcrumbs. And to prepare it, it is fried by submerging it completely in oil, usually olive oil. This gives it the characteristic brown color on the outside, with a crunchy point when biting, which becomes creamy on the inside.
But what’s inside? This is precisely what makes falafel different in Egypt: while in other Near and Middle Eastern countries they are prepared with a paste of chickpeas or a mixture of chickpeas and broad beans, in Egypt only broad beans are used. This option is the one that has declined internationally, which makes Egypt’s own falafel more interesting and unique.
This bean paste also contains other ingredients to give it more flavor and consistency, such as garlic and coriander, the latter contributing to give a touch of green color to the interior, visible after the first bite.
How is falafel served?
Another distinctive feature of falafel in Egypt is the accompaniment: tahini, which we told you about in this other post, is usually present. If served in a separate bowl, the proposal is to dip the falafel in the tahini. But it can also be served with tahini sauce, more liquid, which allows to water the falafel balls.
Beyond tahini, the way to serve and accompany falafel in Egypt can be mainly in two ways:
- On a plate, together with an accompaniment that depends on each place, such as salad.
- In sandwich, it is the most popular version and for this purpose pita bread, so widespread in this country, is used. Inside the pita bread, in addition to falafel and tahini, a certain variety of vegetables can be introduced.
Why it is so popular today
As we were saying, falafel is an increasingly popular dish, both in Egypt and in other countries, including Western countries. First of all, because it is very present in the fast food cuisine of the Middle East, spread throughout the world thanks to the expatriates who have opened this type of restaurants.
It is worth mentioning that in Egypt, this dish has even been introduced in the menu of the most famous fast food restaurants, such as McDonalds, for which they use the term McFalafel.
And secondly, if we go to the opposite extreme, that of slow and healthy cooking, falafel is a dish widely used by vegetarians because, as we have seen, it does not contain meat or any animal by-product for its preparation.
In any case, if you want to taste a good falafel in Egypt during your trip, you can ask the staff of our agency that will accompany you during the tour. We are sure they will be able to give you advice on this matter.
