Ancient Egypt: Taamia Falafal

Welcome to week 2 of our Ancient Egypt Unit Study Series.  If you missed last week, be sure to swing over and learn about the core books I will be using throughout the series.  

To gain a better understanding of the culture of this people group, we cooked up Taamia Falafal, an ancient Egyptian meatless dish.  In our research of Falafal, we learned that there are other modern nations that make a similar dish.  The Egyptian version, however, is flattened instead of round like a meatball and is made with a few varied ingredients, as detailed in this original recipe.  

What you will need

• 2 c. fava beans or chickpeas
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 small onions
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander seed
• 2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 parsley
• 1/2 tsp salt
• sesame seeds
• 1 c. olive oil for frying

To Make Falafal

Soak beans or chickpeas in water overnight.

Drain water.  Blend chickpeas until they form a grainy paste.

Set chickpea paste aside.

Puree/finely chop the garlic, onions, cumin, coriander, parsley, pepper, salt.

This will make a very pungent puree.

Pour and mix into the chickpea paste.

Form into 1-2 inch balls.

Flatten to form round patties about a finger-width thick.  Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Fry batches in large skillet until patties are golden brown on both sides.

Place fried falafal on paper towels to drain excess grease.

Serve inside a pita bread with lettuce, onion, and cucumber slices.

We completed the dish by tossing together a simple salad of dates and figs.  

This nutty-flavored dish has a very pungent smell similar to that of incense in a novelty shop.  Although it was not our favorite international meal, we were glad to have experienced the flavors of the pharaohs.  We added a bit more culture to our dining experience by listening to a orchestral rendition of ancient Egyptian music.

I hope you'll join me again as we continue our look at the ancient civilization of Egypt.

More Ancient Egypt Ideas to Explore

Mummified Apple Experiment

Taamia Falafal (Meatless Pitas)

Making Papyrus

Make a Cartouche

Map of Egypt

*This post contains affiliate links.