Celebrating Falafel

Google Dooles 17.06.2019 16:07  Date: June 18, 2019 Today’s Doodle celebrates falafel, the best thing that ever happened to chickpeas—with the possible exception of hummus, of course. Although the exact origins of this spicy street food have been lost to the mists of time, falafel has been enjoyed for centuries in many different cultures, including India, the country that produces the vast majority of the world’s chickpea crop, which currently is in high season. Another possible progenitor is Egypt, where the Copts prefer to grind fava beans to make these delicious, crispy balls of fried plant protein. Few cultures have embraced falafel as passionately as Israel, which even has a song to celebrate its love affair with the tried-and-true treat, titled “And We Have Falafel.” The country’s falafel fever spiked after 1949, when Operation Magic Carpet relocated some 50,000 Jews from Yemen to Israel. Many of them opened restaurants and began serving falafel in pita bread, which has become a worldwide standard. Since then, more eclectic toppings have been introduced all over the world, ranging from German sauerkraut, to Iraqi fried eggplant, to Indian mango sauce, to Yemeni hot sauce. Even newer variations such as the red falafel—made with jalapeños roasted peppers, tomatoes, and spicy yogurt—or the orange falafel—made with sweet potatoes, cabbage, honey, and ginger tahini—preserve the basic formula of ground legumes, seasoned and fried in oil. One exception was the world’s largest falafel, a 52-pound 12-inch-tall behemoth that was barbecued for 8 hours at the Santa Clarita Valley Jewish Food and Cultural Festival—presumably because they couldn’t find a deep enough fryer. Early drafts by artist Sophie Diao Location: Tags: , , ,