Tameya
Egypt's defining falafel: soaked dried fava beans blitzed with herbs and onion, crusted in sesame, deep-fried till amber-crackling. Stuffed in baladi pita.
Overview
Dried split fava beans (sold as "split foul" or "ful asfar" at Egyptian or Middle Eastern shops) soak overnight (never cooked, that's the key). Once drained, the favas are blitzed with onion, garlic, parsley, coriander, dill, leek and a generous dose of cumin, coriander and chilli into a coarse green paste. Rested for 30 minutes; baking soda mixed in for fluffiness. Patties shape between palms; pressed into sesame seeds + crushed coriander seeds; deep-fried 175°C for 2-3 minutes per side until amber-crisp. Drained and stuffed into pita with tahini, salad and pickles.
Ingredients
Bean base
- 250 g dried split fava beans (foul mudammas / ful asfar - yellowish split bean; sold at Egyptian shops)
- Cold water (for overnight soaking)
Blender
- 1 onion (medium, rough chunks)
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 large bunch fresh coriander (about 30 g, leaves and stems)
- 1 small bunch fresh parsley
- 1 small bunch fresh dill
- 1 leek (small, white and pale green only, sliced thin)
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon chilli flakes
Just before frying
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
Coating
- 4 tablespoons white sesame seeds
- 2 tablespoons whole coriander seeds (crushed lightly)
For frying
- 1 litre vegetable oil
To serve
- 4 baladi pita breads (or any thick flatbread)
- 200 ml tahini sauce (4 tablespoons tahini + 4 tablespoons water + juice of 1 lemon + 2 crushed garlic + ½ tsp salt, whisked smooth)
- Sliced cucumber, tomato, red onion
- Pickled turnips (the pink Egyptian / Lebanese variety)
- Hot sauce (optional)
Method
Stage 1 - Soak (no cooking)
- Place split fava beans in a deep bowl; cover with cold water by 5 cm.
- Soak 12 hours.
- Drain. (Don't cook - that's the falafel rule. Cooked beans give a different, mushy product.)
Stage 2 - Blitz
- In a food processor, combine drained beans, onion chunks, garlic, herbs, leek, salt, cumin, coriander, pepper, Aleppo pepper.
- Pulse repeatedly to a coarse green paste - not smooth puree; some texture is essential for the right tameya structure.
- Tip into a bowl; cover; rest 30 minutes (lets the herbs infuse).
Stage 3 - Prep the sesame coating
- Mix sesame seeds and crushed coriander seeds on a plate.
Stage 4 - Tahini sauce
- Whisk tahini, water, lemon juice, garlic and salt to a thick pourable sauce. If it seizes, add more water 1 tablespoon at a time.
Stage 5 - Shape patties (just before frying)
- Add baking soda to the bean paste; stir thoroughly.
- Take a tablespoon of paste; shape into a small disc 4 cm across, 1 ½ cm thick.
- Press one side firmly into the sesame-coriander mix to coat.
- Set on a tray, coated-side up.
Stage 6 - Fry
- Heat oil to 175°C.
- Drop in 4-5 patties at a time, coated-side down.
- Fry 2-3 minutes; flip; cook 2-3 more minutes until amber-gold, crusted, and the inside is green and soft (test one).
- Lift onto kitchen paper.
Stage 7 - Stuff
- Cut each pita in half to make 2 pockets.
- Spread inside with tahini sauce.
- Add 2-3 patties per pocket.
- Pile in cucumber, tomato, onion, pickled turnips.
- Drizzle with extra tahini and hot sauce.
Notes
- Dried fava beans, NOT chickpeas: This is what makes tameya Egyptian. Chickpea falafel is the Lebanese / Palestinian / general-Levant version. The fava version is greener, softer, more vegetal.
- Soak only - never cook: Cooked beans give a soggy, falling-apart patty. Raw soaked beans give the right structure that frizzles crisp on the outside while staying fluffy-green inside.
- Add baking soda last: Baking soda activates with moisture; mixing it in early gives flat patties. Add right before shaping.
Storage
- Best within 30 minutes of frying.
- Cooked tameya: refrigerate 2 days; re-crisp at 200°C oven 4 minutes.
- The raw mixture (without baking soda) freezes 2 months; defrost, add soda, shape, fry.
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