Are Falafel and Tahini nutritious too?
OK, so hummus is good for you. But what about falafel and tahini? And all that olive oil? Lets shed some light.
In a recent posts I already explained how nutritious Hummus is (I’m talking about REAL hummus of course, freshly made from dried chickpeas. Here’s the recipe).
Recently, a few people asked me about the nutritional benefits of other middle-eastern dishes, such as falafel, tahini and olive oil. So here are the basic facts.
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Israeli Salad recipe
Low in calories, very simple to make, and extremely tasty and nutritionally rich, the Israeli salad is a great addition to any food table.
Until recent years, I didn’t even know it is an “Israeli Salad”. For me it was just a “salad”, the salad that me and everybody else I know ate at home, at list once a day (which is, by the way, pretty similar to other salads eaten in Italy or Greece). But that’s probably because I live in Israel.
True, in most countries until 10-15 years ago, there’s no way you could find vegetables like lettuce, cucumber and tomato in the same greengrocery. Olive oil? Outside some Mediterranean places and maybe California or something, who knew what that was?
Who stole my hummus?
Hummus, Falafel and Shawarma ARE Arab foods. And they are also Israeli foods. Those who claim differently, too often lack the knowledge or the wisdom to see things as they really are.
I already addressed the issue of subjecting hummus and other middle-eastern foods to political disputes. You can read all about it in my post Hummus, is it Israeli or Arab. But I can’t help commenting on this piece, a column by George S. Hishmeh titled ” The undeclared war on Arab cuisine”.
Hishmeh says: “My niece, Irene, called me a few days ago indignant that some of her American friends, including some Jews, keep describing typical Arab foods such as falafel, hummus and shawarma, among others, as Israeli. She wanted to know how she can convince them this is not the case.” Read more
Hummus in Berlin
Here’s a place I’m sure to visit on my next trip to Berlin.
Just came across a place that combines two of my favorites, Berlin and Hummus:
Berlin’s HummusGarten. I was not aware that such place had existed, otherwise I’d probably visit it earlier, in one of my trips to Berlin.
It’s located between Rosa-Luxemburg Platz and Rosenthalerstr., two places in which I’ve been more than a few times. And you can be sure I’d visit and review it the next time I’m in Berlin (and by the way, if your home town has good hummus places, feel free to write something about it and send us - we’ll be thankful up to our ears).
To read about places in Berlin which combines 3 of my favorites, read this one: Berlin’s best falafel Joints.
Hummus Abu Dahbi, the Reggae hummus
In the middle of Tel-Aviv, a tense and busy city of business, politics, cafes and clubbing, a place of good hummus and good music is more then a haven - it’s oasis.
In the case of “Abu Dahbi”, it’s a Galilee-style hummus (as well as Meshawsha, Mahluta, Hummus-Ful and Falafel), accompanied with black music. Mostly hip-hop and reggae, some from abroad - including classics - and some of local artists.
Gal Eilam, one of the owners, says that the rhythm of reggae is the rhythm of heart-bits. His business partner, Samir Ayub, says the most important thing for him is that their clients will leave the place full and happy - and this why the portions are so large, and there’s a refill if you’re still hungry.
I don’t know which of these two sides of the same place make it so calm and friendly, but this is the place I chose to be interviewed in last week, talking on TV about hummus and The Hummus Blog (you can read all about it in my previous post, The Fame of Hummus). There are many hummus places I like, but this one really feels like a safe haven. In some strange way, it reminds me of Berlin.
If you get to Tel-Aviv, don’t miss it:
Hummus Abu Dahbi, 81 King George Tel-Aviv (10AM-8PM I think)
And here’s a beautiful video clip of Axum, a hip-hop twosome, taken at Abu Dahbi’s. It is mostly a Homage to some Israeli artists and cult-movies, and the words are in Hebrew, but I think you’d enjoy it anyhow.
Maker of the video is Asaf Billet (who’s been awarded Best Director of The Israeli Music Channel Awards 2007). You can download the full WMV version (44MB) from his site.
(BTW, I wasn’t even hungry before the shooting, but could not help myself from eating all the hummus in my plate only to regret later for not taking some back home with me.)
The Fame of Hummus
Tonight was very special for me. I had my 15 seconds of glory on TV, in prime-time Saturday news show at Israel’s Channel 2. I was eating hummus, of course.
I’m not at all eager to have my face seen on TV, and had given up a few previous opportunities to talk on TV. But this time I couldn’t say no - they offered me to talk about the Hebrew edition of The Hummus Blog.
The story was about SEO (search engine optimization), and a good friend of mine (Roi Shlomi) who was one of the interviewed experts, was kind enough to tell the reporter Miki Peer about my hummus blog, how I rank #1 for “hummus” (in Hebrew) in Google search results. Read more
Via Dolorosa of Hummus
Remember to wear good shoes, drink a lot, and try not to buy every beautiful thing you see - but do go to Hummus Abu Sukri in old Jerusalem. And please - go through Via Dolorosa.
For those of you who didn’t figure it out yet: I’m an Israeli, living in Tel-Aviv. I’m Jewish, so the fact that a certain place is associated with Jesus doesn’t mean much to me. I may find such a place fascinating, as I may with other historical sites, and that’s about it.
But if you or the people you travel with, happen to be Christian, than you can have twice the spiritual experience in the price of one: Hummus Abu Shukri plus Via Dolorosa.
Abu Shukri and Via Dolorosa (click images to enlarge)
Now, there’s a point to be made: the name “Abu Shukri” is used by several hummus places, most of which reside on Abu Gosh, an Arab village a 5 minute drive from Jerusalem. Read more
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