For many years felafel was the unquestionned king of Israeli street food. Basically a deep-fried blend of ground, seasoned chickpeas, felafel was so common that at least half of the country ate a portion on a daily basis. Although the number of felafel stands in the country has declined, the felafel maintains its popularity. In fact, the once humble felafel is now an accepted side dish in many of the most prestigious restaurants of France and the United States and felafel stands are to be found in Katmandu and Fiji. Starting about four years ago, we Israelis even saw the introduction of gourmet felafel - felafel seasoned with a wide variety of herbs and spices, and even chickpea mixtures that contain chicken and beef. In recent days while strolling the streets of Tel Aviv I have even dined on felafel with Cajun sauce.

There has been some debate about whether felafel is truly Israeli. The truth is that it is probably not for ground, seasoned chickpeas, probably destined for one form or another of felafel has been found in the tombs of several of the Pharoahs. Whatever its origins, good felafel is a gift from the gods.

For better or worse, not many of the truest devotees have tried to make felafel at home. The pre-made mixtures sold for this purpose are widely available in Israel and even in North America and parts of the United Kingdom are distinctly second class. The truth is that it is difficult at home to replicate the full flavor of those felafels eaten at street-side stands, the balls of hot felafel tucked into a pita bread that has been filled with any combination of tchina, pickled or raw white cabbage, tomatoes, hot peppers, and any of a dozen other condiments, all struggling and often succeeding in dripping on our clothing and shoes as we eat the sandwich. Despite that, we keep trying to do it at home. Following are three slightly different versions, all of which I have found to work fairly well.

Felafel - Three Varieties

10 oz (300 gr) chickpeas
4 Tbsp. cracked wheat
3 Tbsp. flour
1 egg
4 cloves garlic, chopped finely
1 tsp. each salt and cumin
1/4 tsp. each chili peper and black peper
1/4 tsp. coriander (optional)
oil for deep frying


1 lb. (450 gr.) chickpeas
1/2 cup cracked wheat
1 large onion, chopped finely
1 egg
2 Tbsp. parsley, chopped finely
l tsp. diced red hot peppers, chopped finely
1 tsp. each salt, garlic powder, cumin
oil for deep frying


1 lb. (450 gr.) chickpeas
1/4 cup each flour and cracked wheat
2 hot red peppers, chopped finely
1/2 tsp. each coriander, cumin and salt
oil for deep frying

Soak the chickpeas overnight. Soak the cracked wheat for 1 - 2 hours. Drain, mix together and mince finely. Mix all of the ingredients except the oil together. Knead well and shape into balls about 1" (2 1/2 cm) in diameter. Fry in deep hot oil that has been heated to 375 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius) until brown and when the outer crusts are hard to the fingernail. Serve hot.

© Daniel Rogov