Friday, March 13, 2009

Falafel





When I was living in New York city I worked in the Village. One of my favorite place in the entire world, Everyday on my way to work, I passed by a little middle Estearn restaurant called Mamnou's Falafel
the smell in front of the restaurant was very exotic. a friend of mine told me about this place and raved about their Falafel. Falafel??? I had no clue what it was… and actually I never stopped and eat at that restaurant, What a shame! Today some 15 years later I was craving for the smell I loved so much…
The actual origins of falafel are not certain; according to the Hebrew-language paper, Ynetnews, "A possible theory suggests falafel was invented some 1000 years ago by the Egyptian Copts, who brought it with them to the rest of the Middle East."[3] Originally made with fava beans in Egypt, the dish later migrated northwards, where chickpeas were introduced instead.[2] The chickpea was used as a food item in the Levant before 4000 BC.[4]

I found a great Recipe on the New York Times

The classic recipe calls for Pita or flat bread, I used Flour Tortilla ( hey I live in Southern California! i stuffed it with , lettuce, fresh parsley, lamb sausage cut in small pieces and as a sauce I mixed TJ's Greek Style yogurt, grated fresh garlic and their famous Organic Creamy blue cheese dressing!
Results? the smell in my kitchen was not the same as I am dreaming about, but when I put my nose just above them I could smell something great. The discovery of Falafel was worth it, it is very nutritious, exotic, and light and really good and tasty calling for a little Escapade in New York or Middle Eastern....

3 comments:

Dewi said...

Wow Celine,
My family love falafel, and the best falafel we ever had was in Jerusalem - Israel.
I should remember Mamnou's Falafel next time I go to visit my brother in law in NYC.
I also like recipe from NYT, I think they are good. And your idea of using flour tortilla instead of pita bread sounds very interesting.
Cheers,
elra

Anonymous said...

Celine, I am from the Middle East. The Greek yogurt has mint in it!

catering in manila said...

wOW! Its absolutely a classic recipe that I was looking for. I really like Pita or flat bread with fresh lettuce. Yummy!

zonia