The falafel (or felafel) known to many Bulgarians enters our country through the popular Turkish-Arab fast food restaurants, but mostly through those run by Lebanese and Syrian emigrants. Whether in the form of a ball or a small pretzel (donut), falafel is mainly composed of fava bean or chickpea.
Its origins are disputed - according to some sources, it came from Egypt and moved to Libya, as a result of trade channels from Alexandria to Beirut, where beans were later replaced by chickpeas. According to others, its roots are in the Arabian Peninsula, and the version with chickpeas came from Yemen. Today, Palestine and Israel also claim the homeland of modern falafel.
The different versions of this vegetarian (as well as vegan, halal and kosher) dish are popular not only in the Orient, but throughout Europe and North America. In Egypt, it is prepared as an integral part of the daily menu, and on religious holidays the quantities are phenomenal. The fried ball is so famous that McDonalds has included it for a long time in its morning menu in all restaurants in Egypt, under the name "McFalafel".
The largest falafel was made at the Hilton Resort, Dead Sea, Jordan in 2019 and weighed 101.5kg.
The record for the most served falafels with a total weight of 5.173 kg. is held by Chief Ramzi Hoyri and students from Al Kafaat University in Beirut, Lebanon in 2010.
Since 2019, falafel has been officially included as an emoji, and Google celebrated it on June 18 of the same year with Google Doogle.
