Egypt (where it is made from fava beans — ta'amiya) and the Levant (where it is made from chickpeas). The chickpea falafel is the internationally recognised version, associated with Israeli street food and Palestinian cooking. The dish is at least several hundred years old; Coptic Christian traditions in Egypt suggest it may predate Islam.
Falafel are deep-fried chickpea or fava bean fritters — bright green on the inside from fresh parsley and coriander, crispy and dark brown on the outside. They must be made from raw dried chickpeas, never canned or cooked. The exterior must shatter on first bite; the interior should be pale green, slightly moist, and herbaceous. Served in warm pita with tahini sauce, salad, pickled turnip, and fresh vegetables.
Tahini sauce (tahini, lemon, garlic, water) and pickled turnip (the pink-purple pickled root vegetable that accompanies falafel throughout the Levant). Ayran (yoghurt drink) or cold Israeli Goldstar lager alongside.
{"Raw dried chickpeas: soaked overnight but never cooked. The raw ground chickpea paste fries to a crispy exterior; cooked chickpeas produce a dense, pasty, fall-apart fritter","Fresh herbs: parsley and coriander in equal parts, fresh. The chlorophyll from the raw herbs is what gives falafel its characteristic green interior","The spices: cumin, coriander, garlic, onion, cayenne — ground together with the chickpeas. The spice level should be present but not dominant","The grind: the chickpeas and herbs are processed in a food processor until the mixture looks like coarse wet sand. Not smooth — if it reaches a paste, the falafel will be dense","Rest in the refrigerator for 1 hour before frying: this firms up the mixture and helps the fritters hold their shape","Fry at 175C in enough oil to fully submerge: 3-4 minutes per batch. Do not crowd the fryer or the temperature drops and the falafel absorbs oil"}
The moment where falafel lives or dies is the test fry — before committing to a full batch, fry one falafel first. If it falls apart in the oil, the mixture needs more binding (add 1 tablespoon of flour). If it is pale and oily after 4 minutes, the oil is too cool. If it is dark brown after 2 minutes, the oil is too hot. The single test falafel is the calibration that determines the entire batch.
{"Using cooked or canned chickpeas: the fritters fall apart in the oil and are dense rather than light","Over-processing to a smooth paste: the granular texture is essential for the crispy exterior","Frying at too-low temperature: the falafel absorbs oil rather than forming a crispy shell"}