{"id":2599,"date":"2020-01-20T07:00:25","date_gmt":"2020-01-20T12:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/hebrew\/?p=2599"},"modified":"2019-12-16T05:00:26","modified_gmt":"2019-12-16T10:00:26","slug":"falafel-the-unofficial-national-food-of-israel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/hebrew\/falafel-the-unofficial-national-food-of-israel\/","title":{"rendered":"Falafel: the Unofficial National Food of Israel"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_2600\" style=\"width: 605px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone post-item__attachment\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2600\" class=\" wp-image-2600\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/hebrew\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2019\/12\/falafel-350x233.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"595\" height=\"396\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/hebrew\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2019\/12\/falafel-350x233.jpg 350w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/hebrew\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2019\/12\/falafel.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 595px) 100vw, 595px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-2600\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Image via Pixabay<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The diverse Israeli cuisine comprises both local dishes and dishes brought to\u00a0Israel\u00a0by Jews from the\u00a0Diaspora. A variety of flavors, ingredients and countries create a plentiful cuisine, but only one dish is considered to be the national food of Israel: falafel (<strong>\u05e4\u05b8\u05dc\u05b8\u05d0\u05e4\u05b6\u05dc<\/strong>).<\/p>\n<p>Falafel is a\u00a0deep-fried\u00a0ball made from ground\u00a0chickpeas (<strong>\u05d7\u05d5\u05bc\u05de\u05d5\u05bc\u05e1<\/strong>), herbs and spices. It\u2019s a very common street food, served in a\u00a0pita bread (<strong>\u05e4\u05bc\u05b4\u05d9\u05ea\u05bc\u05b8\u05d4<\/strong>), with a selection of salads (vegetable, cabbage and pickles), a selection of dips (tahini, hummus and amba), and French fries. And for those who eat spicy, there is also zhug to add.<\/p>\n<p>As many other Israeli dishes, even the unofficial national dish wasn\u2019t originated in Israel. The following video tells the history of the falafel, who arrived in Israel from Egypt. As a cheap (<strong>\u05d6\u05d5\u05b9\u05dc<\/strong>) and an easy-to-prepare dish it gained popularity very fast, especially during Israel Israel\u2019s difficult first years. Another advantage is the fact that falafel is a vegan food and contains no milk. Hence it is kosher Parve, and can be served or be eaten with diary and meat food.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"\u05db\u05d0\u05df \u05e1\u05e7\u05e8\u05e0\u05d9\u05dd | \u05d0\u05d9\u05da \u05d4\u05e4\u05da \u05d4\u05e4\u05dc\u05d0\u05e4\u05dc \u05dc\u05de\u05d0\u05db\u05dc \u05d4\u05dc\u05d0\u05d5\u05de\u05d9?\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/zWpqusURdwI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Many falafel stalls opened throughout the country during its first decade. The popular dish started to appear in Hebrew cooking books and was even mentioned in songs and skits. A famous Israeli song from the 50\u2019s, called <strong>\u05e9\u05c1\u05c5\u05d9\u05e8<\/strong> <strong>\u05d4\u05b7\u05e4\u05b8\u05dc\u05b8\u05d0\u05e4\u05b6\u05dc<\/strong> (<em>the falafel song<\/em>), crowns the falafel as the national dish:<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u05dc\u05b0\u05db\u05b8\u05dc \u05de\u05b0\u05d3\u05b4\u05d9\u05e0\u05b8\u05d4 \u05db\u05bc\u05b8\u05d0\u05df \u05d1\u05bc\u05b7\u05e2\u05d5\u05ba\u05dc\u05b8\u05dd, \u05de\u05b7\u05d0\u05b2\u05db\u05b8\u05dc \u05dc\u05b0\u05d0\u05bb\u05de\u05bc\u05b4\u05d9 \u05d4\u05b7\u05de\u05d5\u05bc\u05db\u05bc\u05b8\u05e8 \u05dc\u05b0\u05db\u05bc\u05d5\u05bc\u05dc\u05b8\u05dd&#8230; \u05d5\u05b0\u05dc\u05b8\u05e0\u05d5\u05bc \u05d9\u05b5\u05e9\u05c1 \u05e4\u05b8\u05dc\u05b8\u05d0\u05e4\u05b6\u05dc, \u05e4\u05b8\u05dc\u05b8\u05d0\u05e4\u05b6\u05dc, \u05e4\u05b8\u05dc\u05b8\u05d0\u05e4\u05b6\u05dc<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>Every country in the world has a national dish that everyone knows &#8230; and we have falafel, falafel, falafel<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Listen to the joyful humorist song:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"\u05d5\u05dc\u05e0\u05d5 \u05d9\u05e9 \u05e4\u05dc\u05d0\u05e4\u05dc - \u05e0\u05e1\u05d9\u05dd \u05d2\u05e8\u05de\u05d4\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/qCNGvjP88do?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Falafel has remained a cheap, filling (<strong>\u05de\u05b7\u05e9\u05c2\u05b0\u05d1\u05bc\u05b4\u05d9\u05e2\u05b7<\/strong>) fast food. Without compromising on the taste (<strong>\u05d8\u05b7\u05e2\u05b7\u05dd<\/strong>) \u2013 falafel is delicious (<strong>\u05d8\u05b8\u05e2\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd<\/strong>) \u2013 it\u2019s something that you can eat for less than 30 NIS, including drink, and be full. The Israeli falafel is different from the falafel of our neighboring countries: it is made from ground\u00a0chickpeas , served in pita, with pickles and European French fries. Some falafel stalls have their own creative variations. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.falafelbaribua.co.il\/\">Falafel Baribua<\/a> is a chain of falafel restaurants (<strong>\u05de\u05b4\u05e1\u05b0\u05e2\u05b8\u05d3\u05b8\u05d4<\/strong>) which serves square (<strong>\u05de\u05b0\u05e8\u05bb\u05d1\u05bc\u05b8\u05e2<\/strong>) falafel instead of the traditional balls. Another small falafel restaurant called <em>The Magician<\/em> serves tempura fried eggplant on top of every dish. The next video compares the new trendy <em>magician<\/em> falafel in Tel-Aviv to an old small falafel place in Haifa called <em>The Olds<\/em>, which hasn\u2019t change since its establishment in 1950:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"\u05e7\u05e8\u05d1 \u05d4\u05e4\u05dc\u05d0\u05e4\u05dc \u05d4\u05d2\u05d3\u05d5\u05dc\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/1MDo1M6F7nA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>If it\u2019s your first time trying the national dish of Israel, you don\u2019t have to buy a whole pita. There are two sizes: <strong>\u05de\u05b8\u05e0\u05b8\u05d4<\/strong> and <strong>\u05d7\u05b2\u05e6\u05b4\u05d9 \u05de\u05b8\u05e0\u05b8\u05d4<\/strong>, literally means <em>dish<\/em> and <em>half a dish<\/em>, and refers to a whole pita and half a pita. If you are not that hungry ask the seller for <strong>\u05d7\u05b2\u05e6\u05b4\u05d9 \u05de\u05b8\u05e0\u05b8\u05d4<\/strong>. He will slice the pita in half and fill one of them with falafel and the side-dishes you crave. If you aren\u2019t specific about the size you want, the seller will automatically prepare a whole <strong>\u05de\u05b8\u05e0\u05b8\u05d4<\/strong> for you, which is what most Israelis order. Another option is to buy falafel only, without pita. Ask the seller for falafel balls (<strong>\u05db\u05bc\u05b7\u05d3\u05bc\u05d5\u05bc\u05e8\u05b5\u05d9 \u05e4\u05b8\u05dc\u05b8\u05d0\u05e4\u05b6\u05dc<\/strong>) and he will serve you hot falafel balls on a plate, or in a paper bag.<\/p>\n<p>Kiryat Shmona, Israel\u2019s northernmost city, was targeted for rocket-fire cross-border attacks from Lebanon for many years. As such, the city has been the focus of political attention for many years. Politicians who came to the city used to eat falafel at Amar\u2019s. In the next video Amar tells about the politician who prepared the dish himself, and the politician who ordered falafel on a plate:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"\u05e0\u05d5\u05d4\u05e8\u05d9\u05dd \u05dc\u05db\u05d3\u05d5\u05e8\u05d9\u05dd: \u05d4\u05db\u05d9\u05e8\u05d5 \u05d0\u05ea \u05d4\u05e4\u05dc\u05d0\u05e4\u05dc \u05e9\u05d4\u05e4\u05d5\u05dc\u05d9\u05d8\u05d9\u05e7\u05d0\u05d9\u05dd \u05d4\u05db\u05d9 \u05d0\u05d5\u05d4\u05d1\u05d9\u05dd\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/3fVEIDW2dlA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><u>Text vocabulary <\/u><\/p>\n<p>Falafel = \u05e4\u05b8\u05dc\u05b8\u05d0\u05e4\u05b6\u05dc<\/p>\n<p>Falafel balls = \u05db\u05bc\u05b7\u05d3\u05bc\u05d5\u05bc\u05e8\u05b5\u05d9 \u05e4\u05b8\u05dc\u05b8\u05d0\u05e4\u05b6\u05dc<\/p>\n<p>Chickpeas = \u05d7\u05d5\u05bc\u05de\u05d5\u05bc\u05e1<\/p>\n<p>Pita bread = \u05e4\u05bc\u05b4\u05d9\u05ea\u05bc\u05b8\u05d4<\/p>\n<p>Cheap = \u05d6\u05d5\u05b9\u05dc<\/p>\n<p>Filling = \u05de\u05b7\u05e9\u05c2\u05b0\u05d1\u05bc\u05b4\u05d9\u05e2\u05b7<\/p>\n<p>Taste = \u05d8\u05b7\u05e2\u05b7\u05dd<\/p>\n<p>Delicious = \u05d8\u05b8\u05e2\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd<\/p>\n<p>Food = \u05d0\u05b9\u05db\u05b6\u05dc, \u05de\u05b8\u05d6\u05d5\u05b9\u05df\u00a0\u05de\u05b7\u05d0\u05b2\u05db\u05b8\u05dc,<\/p>\n<p>National = \u00a0\u05dc\u05b0\u05d0\u05bb\u05de\u05bc\u05b4\u05d9<\/p>\n<p>National food = \u05de\u05b7\u05d0\u05b2\u05db\u05b8\u05dc \u05dc\u05b0\u05d0\u05bb\u05de\u05bc\u05b4\u05d9<\/p>\n<p>Restaurant = \u05de\u05b4\u05e1\u05b0\u05e2\u05b8\u05d3\u05b8\u05d4<\/p>\n<p>Square = \u05de\u05b0\u05e8\u05bb\u05d1\u05bc\u05b8\u05e2<\/p>\n<p>Dish = \u05de\u05b8\u05e0\u05b8\u05d4<\/p>\n<p>Half a dish = \u05d7\u05b2\u05e6\u05b4\u05d9 \u05de\u05b8\u05e0\u05b8\u05d4<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff\">Keep Calm and Learn Hebrew!<\/span><\/h3>\n<hr \/>\n<hr \/>\n<h4><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<img width=\"350\" height=\"233\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/hebrew\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2019\/12\/falafel-350x233.jpg\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/hebrew\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2019\/12\/falafel-350x233.jpg 350w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/hebrew\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2019\/12\/falafel.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><p>The diverse Israeli cuisine comprises both local dishes and dishes brought to\u00a0Israel\u00a0by Jews from the\u00a0Diaspora. A variety of flavors, ingredients and countries create a plentiful cuisine, but only one dish is considered to be the national food of Israel: falafel (\u05e4\u05b8\u05dc\u05b8\u05d0\u05e4\u05b6\u05dc). Falafel is a\u00a0deep-fried\u00a0ball made from ground\u00a0chickpeas (\u05d7\u05d5\u05bc\u05de\u05d5\u05bc\u05e1), herbs and spices. It\u2019s a very common&hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"post-item__readmore\"><a class=\"btn btn--md\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/hebrew\/falafel-the-unofficial-national-food-of-israel\/\">Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":135,"featured_media":2600,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2599","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/hebrew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2599","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/hebrew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/hebrew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/hebrew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/135"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/hebrew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2599"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/hebrew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2599\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2602,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/hebrew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2599\/revisions\/2602"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/hebrew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2600"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/hebrew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2599"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/hebrew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2599"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/hebrew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2599"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}