3. Place the dough between two 18-by-13-inch (45-
½ cup (120 milliliters) water
by-32 centimeter) sheets of parchment. Roll out the
¼ cup (60 milliliters) olive oil
dough to a little less than ¼-inch (5 millimeters)
thick, working from the center, to form a rectangle
Dukkah Spice Mix
about the size of the parchment. Make sure the
Toast each of the following separately in a dry
dough is an even thickness to ensure that it will
pan over medium heat, removing from heat when
bake evenly.
fragrant and the seeds or nuts start to crackle:
½ cup (70 grams) sesame seeds, ½ cup (70 grams)
4. Remove the top sheet of parchment. Sprinkle on
hazelnuts or peanuts, and 1 cup (80 grams)
the 2 tablespoons of sesame and press them into the
coriander seeds. Let cool.
dough. Transfer the dough with the parchment to an
Coarsley chop the nuts. Grind the coriander.
18-by-13-inch (45-by-32-centimeter) baking sheet.
Combine all of the ingredients with 1 teaspoon
ground cumin and 1 teaspoon salt, and stir well.
5. Prick the dough with a fork to prevent it from
Dukkah will keep refrigerated in a tightly sealed jar
rising. Using a pizza cutter or a sharp knife,
for three weeks.
score the dough, creating a grid of about 36 crackers
in any shape you like. This will make it easier to
break them up once they are baked.
6. Bake until golden, about 20 minutes. If some
crackers turn golden before others do, remove them
while the others continue to bake. Let the crackers
cool before breaking them into pieces. The crackers
will stay fresh and crispy in an airtight container
for 3 days.
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ةزغ
A P O O R M A N ’ S K E B A B · C H I C K P E A T O C O O K
H U M M U S B I T A H I N E H U M M U S W I T H T A H I N I · O N I O N - S T U F F E D
F A L A F E L · D I L L F A L A F E L · C H I C K P E A C O N F I T
Gaza
K A S H K S O U P W I T H C H I C K P E A S A N D R I C E
C H I C K P E A A N D V E A L C A S S E R O L E W I T H S H A T T A P E P P E R S
M A F T O U L P A L E S T I N I A N C O U S C O U S · A N G E L S I N G A Z A
הזע
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A P O O R M A N ’ S K E B A B
Mousa Tawfiq
a tradition renewed every friday
I am Mousa Tawfiq, 23, a journalist and musician based in Gaza, Palestine.
My mother, Sawsan Bajes, 50, whose parents left their farms in Ni’lin village
in 1948, spent her childhood in refugee camps in Syria, and learned from her
mother how to make perfect hummus and falafel. For my mother, hummus and
falafel do not need special ingredients, as she believes that cooking is about love.
Despite all of my father’s complaints about legumes (chickpeas in particular) and
his colon pain, my mother has never changed her weekly tradition – breakfast
on Fridays consists of hummus and falafel. “It’s a perfect chance for the family
to gather during weekends and to eat a warm, homemade meal,” she says.
Every Friday, my mother gets up at 4:00 AM. After saying her prayers, she begins
the day by grinding the ingredients for the falafel: chickpeas, parsley, onions,
and garlic. She then adds the spices: salt, pepper, cumin, coriander, and paprika.
The paste rests for a couple of hours before she adds the baking soda, and then
the falafel is ready to be fried.
Making hummus is easier – all the ingredients simply go into the food processor.
“I put chickpeas, salt, and tahini, with some pepper if I like,” she explains. “For
me, the most important thing is not to add too much tahini, because it has a
dominant flavor and we want to taste the chickpeas.”
My mother and most of her friends, who lived in refugee camps, believe that
hummus and falafel are an indispensable part of our heritage and history.
Therefore, having these dishes on the table every Friday is the least they can
do to remind their children of their roots. “Cooking these meals is not about
ingredients and recipes, my son. It is about memories and people. It is about
our stories that we want to tell,” she concludes.
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a restaurant on every street
For Fares and thousands of others like him, falafel and hummus are “rich alternatives
to meat and kebab,” as he puts it. “In Gaza, you will find a lot of empty butcher
A short walk down any Gaza street is enough to demonstrate Gazans’ love of
shops, but you will not find one empty hummus and falafel restaurant.”
falafel and hummus. We are talking at least one restaurant or booth on every
street. Some streets are even named after a falafel or hummus restaurant. A good
Living in a besieged Gaza for the last 23 years has shaped my personality, beliefs,
example of this is the Abu Talal restaurant, which is on Abu Talal Crossing,
talents, and obviously my appetite too. I cannot remember my first hummus or
despite being on the same street as the biggest bakery and coffee shop in Gaza.
falafel sandwich, simply because I have been eating them since the age of three.
Since the 1950s, Abu Talal has been one of the most popular falafel restaurants
As a student, I spent nine years at UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works
in Gaza. Nowadays, the third generation of the family works in the only branch
Agency) schools for Palestinian refugees, three years at a governmental school,
of the restaurant, offering mainly falafel, and as of recently, also hummus.
and another four years at a public university, and during all those years hummus
and falafel were the only available breakfast.
When eating at Abu Talal, the most distinctive aspect of the experience is the
simplicity: There are no tables or chairs, and dozens of customers from different
Whether served with a cup of tea in the wintertime, or with a glass of juice during
backgrounds and social classes all stand together in the small restaurant, delightedly
the summer, hummus and falafel sandwiches make for a rich and affordable meal,
eating their sandwiches, one after another. “The sandwiches here aren’t stuffed
perfect for students of all ages and people of all backgrounds. Nowadays, my
with salad or fries, it’s just falafel and hummus,” says Khaled Ahmed, 43, a regular
family still eagerly awaits Friday mornings and my mother’s falafel and hummus.
customer who eats at Abu Talal every day before heading to work.
“Every Friday, we come to my grandmother’s house. She makes very delicious
falafel and hummus,” my nephew, Majd, aged 6, told me. “We have a great time
Another successful example is Zahran restaurant, which has a total of six branches
talking about our we
ek and eating together. I will never stop visiting and telling
across Gaza City. Zahran offers a slightly greater variety of dishes and sandwiches:
her about my day at school while we eat her falafel and hummus.”
falafel, hummus, ful medames (a hearty dish made with fava beans) and msabaha
(a mixture of hummus and ful medames), as well as salads and pickles. “The secret
to our success is family teamwork and devotion,” said Muhammad al-Jabali, 32,
who works at Zahran. “We improved those dishes to make them less traditional
Mousa Tawfiq is a Palestinian journalist and researcher from Gaza living in Paris.
and old fashioned, and more up-to-date and original.”
a poor man’s kebab
With a 43.2% unemployment rate, Gazans suffer from poverty and lack of
economic resources, and therefore hummus and falafel provide a solution for
desperate Gazans.
“I work as a construction worker,” says Ahmed Fares, 39. “My salary is 50 Shekels
(about $15) a day, so I cannot afford to buy 1 kilogram of meat that costs 60
Shekels (about $17). However, hummus and falafel cost 10 Shekels (about $3),
and so thanks to them I can enjoy a warm, rich meal with my three children.”
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C H I C K P E A T O C O O K
Rumi
A chickpea leaps almost over the rim of the pot
where it’s being boiled.
‘Why are you doing this to me?’
The cook knocks it down with the ladle.
‘Don’t you try to jump out.
You think I’m torturing you.
I’m giving you flavor,
so you can mix with spices and rice
and be the lovely vitality of a human being.
Remember when you drank rain in the garden.
That was for this.’
Grace first. Sexual pleasure,
then a boiling new life begins,
and the Friend has something good to eat.
Eventually the chickpea will say to the cook,
‘Boil me some more.
Hit me with the skimming spoon.
I can’t do this by myself.
I’m like an elephant that dreams of gardens
back in Hindustan and doesn’t pay attention
to his driver. You’re my cook, my driver,
my way into existence. I love your cooking.’
The cook says,
‘I was once like you,
fresh from the ground. Then I boiled in time,
and boiled in the body, two fierce boilings.
My animal soul grew powerful.
I controlled it with practices,
and boiled some more, and boiled
“Not Christian or Jew or Muslim,
once beyond that,
not Hindu, Buddhist, Sufi, or Zen.
and became your teacher.’
Not any religion or cultural system.”
From a ghazal in Rumi’s thirteenth-
century masterpiece Dīvān-e Kabīr,
Rumi (1207-1273), from the Masnavi III: 4159-4190.
written in honor of his spiritual
Translated by Coleman Barks, and adapted from
teacher and friend Shams Tabrizi.
The Pea Boiling in the Pot
Farsi calligraphy on whirling dervish,
by Josh Berer
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H U M M U S B I T A H I N E H U M M U S W I T H T A H I N I
This hummus enriched with tahini has a distinct chickpea flavor. Since lemon juice oxidizes hummus
within hours, use the lemon juice only if the dish is meant to be eaten on the same day it is prepared.
If you use citric acid instead, the hummus will keep, covered and refrigerated, for two to three days.
Serves 4, makes 4 cups hummus
1. Place the chickpeas, cooking liquid, citric acid or
lemon juice, and salt in the bowl of a food processor
2 cups (500 grams) Cooked Chickpeas for
and purée to a smooth paste, about 2 minutes.
Hummus (pages 176-7), chilled, plus ¹⁄₃ cup
(80 milliliters) chickpea cooking liquid
2. Pour in half of the tahini and half of the water
¾ teaspoon citric acid or 1 tablespoon fresh
and continue to process until the mixture comes
lemon juice
together, 2 minutes more. Add the olive oil,
¾ teaspoon salt
ground cumin, remaining tahini, and water,
1 cup (250 grams) raw tahini
and process to a smooth and creamy spread,
½ cup (120 milliliters) water
about 2 minutes.
3 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon ground cumin
3. Transfer the hummus to an airtight container,
cover the surface with plastic wrap to prevent a
skin from forming, and chill for at least 2 hours
before serving.
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This recipe calls for a basic falafel mixture: Ground chickpeas that have been soaked overnight in
water, salt, a little cumin, and coriander. However, the center of the falafel ball holds the real surprise –
onion mixed with sumac – that mellows out the onion’s sharpness and gives it a slightly tart flavor.
Makes 45 balls
1. Rinse chickpeas thoroughly. Place the chickpeas
in a bowl, add water to cover by at least 2 inches
2½ cups (500 grams) dried chickpeas
(5 centimeters) and soak in the refrigerator for 12
1 medium onion, finely chopped
hours. Drain and rinse the chickpeas. Set aside.
1 tablespoon sumac
2 garlic cloves
2. Place the onions and sumac in a bowl and mix with
¼ to ½ green chile pepper, such as serrano
your hands, gently massaging the sumac into the
1 tablespoon salt
onions. This will help soften them.
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
3. Using a meat grinder, grind the chickpeas, garlic,
¹⁄₃ cup (80 milliliters) water
and chile pepper into a chunky paste. Alternatively,
1 teaspoon baking soda
use a food processor fitted with a steel blade to
process the mixture in several batches, if necessary.
To Serve
Tahini Sauce (page 281)
4. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and add salt,
cumin, coriander, water, and baking soda, and stir
well. The mixture should be crumbly but moist
enough to hold its shape when squeezed.
5. Heat 2 inches (5 centimeters) of oil in a deep
saucepan over a medium heat to 350°F (180°C).
Roll the mixture into balls the size of a walnut.
Use your finger to create a dimple in a ball and stuff
with ½ teaspoon of the filling. Roll well to seal and
repeat with the remaining balls.
6. Fry the falafel balls, 6 at a time until golden brown
all over, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a colander or
a paper-towel-lined baking sheet to remove excess oil.
7. Serve warm on a platter with tahini sauce.
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D I L L F A L A F E L
C H I C K P E A C O N F I T
In Gaza, the falafel mix often contains generous doses of fresh herbs, which make for a bright green
This ancien
t dish is a substitute that recreates the taste of lamb for those who cannot afford it.
fritter with pronounced flavors of garlic and dill.
The chickpeas are traditionally cooked for hours over the low flame of a kerosene burner, resulting
in incredibly rich beans infused with the flavor of lamb fat.
Makes 40 balls
1. Rinse chickpeas thoroughly. Place in a large
bowl, add water to cover by at least 2 inches
Serves 4
1. Heat the lamb fat in a large heavy-bottomed
2 cups (400 grams) dried chickpeas
(5 centimeters) and soak in the refrigerator for
saucepan with olive oil over low heat until the lamb
½ cup cilantro
12 hours. Drain and rinse the chickpeas.
½ cup (100 grams) lamb fat
fat is mostly rendered, about 10 minutes.
½ cup parsley
1 cup (240 milliliters) olive oil
½ cup dill
2. Using a meat grinder, grind the chickpeas, cilantro,
4 cups (1 kilogram) Cooked Chickpeas for Salads
2. Add the chickpeas, garlic, bay leaf, allspice, salt,
5 garlic cloves
parsley, dill, garlic, and chile peppers into a chunky
and Stews (pages 176-7)
and pepper and shake the pan gently to combine.
3 green chile peppers, such as serrano, seeded
paste. Alternatively, use a food processor fitted
5 garlic cloves
2 teaspoons cumin
with a steel blade to process in several batches,
1 bay leaf
3. Continue to cook until the chickpeas are soft
2 teaspoons ground coriander
if necessary.
2 allspice berries
enough to disintegrate when touched, about 1 hour.
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
Salt and freshly ground white pepper, to taste
Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg
3. Stir the spices, salt, baking soda, and sesame seeds
2 teaspoons salt
into the chickpea mixture. If using a food processor,
To Serve
4. Serve with pita or cooked white rice.
1 teaspoon baking soda
add the spices, salt, baking soda, and sesame seeds,
Pita Pockets (page 124)
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
and process 1 to 2 minutes more. The mixture
Cooked white rice
Oil, for frying
should be moist enough to hold its shape when
rolled into a ball. If the mixture is too dry, add 1 to
Ariel Rosenthal, Orly Peli-Bronshtein, Dan Alexander Page 4
