Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A mixture of ground spiced chickpeas or fava beans that is shaped into balls and deep-fried.
  • noun A fried ball made of such a mixture.
  • noun A sandwich filled with such balls.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun uncountable A Middle Eastern food in the form of balls made from chickpeas and other ingredients. Often served in a pita.
  • noun countable A pita with falafel balls inside.
  • noun countable A single falafel ball.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun small croquette of mashed chick peas or fava beans seasoned with sesame seeds

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Levantine colloquial Arabic falāfil, perhaps from pl. of earlier *filfal, from Aramaic pilpāl, small round thing, peppercorn, from palpēl, to be round, roll.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Arabic فلافل (falaafil), the plural of فلفل (filfil, "pepper").

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Examples

  • Your falafel from the green lagoon could be the start of a whole new trend.

    FALAFEL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! at 2009

  • In Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan, Claudia Roden says falafel is made with a mixture of chickpeas and fava beans, while Israelis and Palestinians prefer it made only with chickpeas.

    Recipe: Falafel (Φαλάφελ ή Ρεβυθοκεφτέδες) Laurie Constantino 2008

  • In Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan, Claudia Roden says falafel is made with a mixture of chickpeas and fava beans, while Israelis and Palestinians prefer it made only with chickpeas.

    Archive 2008-03-01 Laurie Constantino 2008

  • Egyptian falafel is made using peeled and dried fava beans (not the yellow split pea Greeks call fava).

    Archive 2008-03-01 Laurie Constantino 2008

  • The key to making tasty falafel is to use dried chickpeas (my first batch was made with cooked chickpeas; the texture was awful), soak the chickpeas at least 24 hours (I only soaked the chickpeas overnight for my second batch; everything about the falafel was wrong), and purée the soaked chickpeas until very smooth (in my third batch, the ground chickpeas were the size of dried couscous; these fell apart in the hot oil).

    Archive 2008-03-01 Laurie Constantino 2008

  • Gretchen, one of the best things about falafel is you can make up the mix way ahead of time.

    Recipe: Falafel (Φαλάφελ ή Ρεβυθοκεφτέδες) Laurie Constantino 2008

  • Foul could be bought for 1.5 piasters; tamaya in Israel it was called falafel sandwiches were just two piasters—roughly a nickel.

    Crossing Mandelbaum Gate Kai Bird 2010

  • Egyptian falafel is made using peeled and dried fava beans (not the yellow split pea Greeks call fava).

    Recipe: Falafel (Φαλάφελ ή Ρεβυθοκεφτέδες) Laurie Constantino 2008

  • Foul could be bought for 1.5 piasters; tamaya in Israel it was called falafel sandwiches were just two piasters—roughly a nickel.

    Crossing Mandelbaum Gate Kai Bird 2010

  • The key to making tasty falafel is to use dried chickpeas (my first batch was made with cooked chickpeas; the texture was awful), soak the chickpeas at least 24 hours (I only soaked the chickpeas overnight for my second batch; everything about the falafel was wrong), and purée the soaked chickpeas until very smooth (in my third batch, the ground chickpeas were the size of dried couscous; these fell apart in the hot oil).

    Recipe: Falafel (Φαλάφελ ή Ρεβυθοκεφτέδες) Laurie Constantino 2008

Comments

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  • Finally had falafel tonight. Doesn't qualify as fried goodness in my book. :(

    October 27, 2008

  • It wasn't one of those packet-mix ones, was it? Not up to scratch.

    October 27, 2008

  • It surely was not a proper falafel, then.

    October 27, 2008

  • My favorite get-well card has a picture of a pita on the front and the text, "Falafel?"

    Inside it says "Well... feel better, okay?"

    October 27, 2008

  • Haha!

    My fellow Wordies are correct, jenn. Sorry you had an awful falafel.

    October 28, 2008

  • Some falafel are very yummy indeed. I especially like when they make them crunchy, like (Italian?) meatballs.

    October 28, 2008

  • It took me a day of saying that before I finally got it, chained_bear.

    October 28, 2008

  • What does falafel taste like? Here's a brief description.

    August 12, 2009