We lived in Khartoum, Sudan for some time a few years back. The nice, friendly Sudanese people really made up for all the extreme heat and sun. Kaif halak, Sudanese friends? Tamam? I miss Khartoum and our dear ones there. So, everybody has their soul food. My soul food is the Sudanese food. I feel so content eating it, especially their fava beans. I like Tamiya too but being fried, I don't make it often. I think I made it this time after an year. There is a big restaurant aptly named 'Lazeez' that is always busy. I am not sure about now but their was a small room with upper half of the wall in glass all around. A cook would make fresh Tamiya right in front of everyone and they were so delicious!
When we came here in US and started searching for similar food, the falafels were very disappointing (and still are). I guess the benchmark is very high! My falafel recipe is inspired from those served at Lazeez. Luckily I met a Sudanese lady in my community and we quickly connected. I asked her questions about the recipe and she gave me the ingredients list. I had to figure out the quantities. I searched for Sudanese Tamiya recipe on internet and found what I was looking for. This recipe is adapted from Celina Bean's website who also shares a wonderful story related to the recipe. As she says, these falafels are best eaten within few minutes of coming out of the pan. But, they can be prepared in advance too.
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| Photo by Dhara Balwa |
Adapted from Celina Bean
Makes: 18 nos.
Prep time: 20 min + overnight soak time for Chick peas; Cook Time: 40 min
Difficulty level: Medium
