Falafel
Falafel is a deep-fried ball, or a flat or doughnut-shaped patty, made from ground chickpeas, fava beans, or both. Herbs and onion relatives are added to the dough, it is a Levantine and Egyptian dish that most originated in Egypt, but is eaten throughout Western Asia. The fritters are now found around the world as part of vegetarian cuisine, as a form of street food. "Falafel balls" are served in a pita, which acts as a pocket, or wrapped in a flatbread known as taboon. "Falafel" refers to a wrapped sandwich prepared in this way: the falafel "balls" are laid over a bed of salad or pickled vegetables, drizzled with hot sauce or a tahini-based sauce. Falafel "balls" may be eaten alone as a snack, or served as part of an assortment of appetizers known as a meze; the English word falafel or felafel is a loanword from the Levantine Arabic falāfil. It may come from the plural of the earlier filfal from Persian pilpil, from Sanskrit pippalī "long pepper", or from the Aramaic pilpāl, meaning a small round thing or a peppercorn, from palpēl, to be round, to roll.
It has been found as a foreign-language term in an English publication as early as 1941, though the Oxford English Dictionary gives its earliest attestation in 1951. One Coptic dictionary speculates a Coptic origin via the unattested phrase *pha la phel, meaning "that which has lots of beans". However, there is no historical record of this being used, the Coptic Etymological Dictionary does not contain an entry for the word. Falafel is known as taʿamiya in many parts of Egypt. In Alexandria, it is called falafel; the word falafel can refer to the fritters themselves or to sandwiches filled with them. The origin of falafel is controversial. A held theory is that the dish was invented in Egypt about 1000 years ago by Coptic Christians, who ate it as a replacement for meat during Lent; as Alexandria is a port city, it was possible to export the dish and name to other areas in the Middle East. The dish migrated northwards to the Levant, where chickpeas replaced the fava beans, it has been speculated, with no concrete evidence, that its history may go back to Pharaonic Egypt.
Other theories propose that it came from the Indian subcontinent, where deep-frying was common, brought west by Arabs or Turks. Falafel grew to become a common form of street food or fast food in much of the Middle East in the Levant and Egypt; the croquettes are eaten as part of meze. During Ramadan, falafel balls are sometimes eaten as part of the iftar, the meal that breaks the daily fast after sunset. Falafel became so popular that McDonald's for a time served a "McFalafel" in its breakfast menu all over Egypt. Falafel is still popular with Egyptians, who eat it on a daily basis along with ful medames and cook large volumes during religious holidays. Debates over the origin of falafel have sometimes devolved into political discussions about the relationship between Arabs and Israelis. In modern times, falafel has been considered a national dish in Egypt in Palestine, of Israel. Resentment exists amongst many Palestinians for what they see as the appropriation of their dish by Israelis. Additionally, the Lebanese Industrialists' Association attempted to claim Protected Designated Origin status to prevent Israeli use of the word.
Falafel plays an iconic role in Israeli cuisine and is considered to be the national dish of the country. While falafel is not a Jewish dish, it was eaten by Mizrahi Jews in their countries of origin, it was adopted by early Jewish immigrants to Palestine. Due to its being plant based, it is considered pareve under Jewish dietary laws and gained acceptance with Jews because it could be eaten with meat or dairy meals. In North America, prior to the 1970s, falafel was found only in Middle Eastern and Jewish neighborhoods and restaurants. Today, the dish is a common and popular street food in many cities throughout North America. Germany has seen an increase in the popularity of falafel since the last decades of the 20th century. In Berlin, the areas of the former West Berlin play a special role, as they host a comparatively large Arab community. However, falafel shops have been located in areas undergoing gentrification, rather than being chiefly part of an Arab subculture. While the operators are Arabs, the customers are predominantly middle-class Germans.
Some restaurants associated with the thriving Jewish and Israeli community in Berlin serve falafel. Falafel restaurants sometimes feature Middle-Eastern decor meant to give an impression of exotic authenticity. However, the food has been adapted. For example, a unique sweet mango sauce is used in place of the sour-salty amba found in the Middle East, take-away sandwiches in pita bread contain assorted vegetables and sauces, in contrast to simpler Middle-Eastern presentations. Falafel has become popular among vegetarians and vegans, as an alternative to meat-based street foods, is now sold in packaged mixes in health-food stores. While used to make veggie burgers, it has become more used as a source of protein. In the United States, falafel's versatility has allowed for the reformulating of recipes for meatloaf, sloppy joes and spaghetti and meatbal
Squid as food
Squid is eaten in many cuisines. There are many ways to cook squid, with every country and region having its own recipes. Fried squid appears in Mediterranean cuisine. In Lebanon and Armenia, it is served with a tarator sauce. In New Zealand and South Africa, it is sold in fish and chip shops. In North America, fried squid is a staple in seafood restaurants. In Britain, it can be found in Mediterranean'calamari' or Asian'salt and pepper fried squid' forms in all kinds of establishments served as a bar snack, street food or starter. Squid can be prepared for consumption in other ways. In Korea, it is sometimes served raw, elsewhere it is used as sushi and tempura items, stuffed, covered in batter, stewed in gravy and served in stir-fries and noodle dishes. Dried shredded squid is a common snack including East Asia; the body can be cut into flat pieces or sliced into rings. The arms and ink are edible. In Chinese and Southeast Asian cuisine, squid is used in stir-fries and noodle dishes, it may be spiced.
In China and Japan squid is grilled whole and sold in food stalls Pre-packaged dried shredded squid or cuttlefish are snack items in Hong Kong, Korea, Japan and Russia shredded to reduce chewiness. In Japan, squid is used in every type of dish, including sushi, tempura and grilled. In Korea, squid is sometimes served quickly. Unlike octopus, squid tentacles do not continue to move when reaching the table; this fresh squid is 산 오징어. The squid is served with soy sauce, chili sauce, or sesame sauce, it is wrapped in lettuce or pillard leaves. Squid is marinated in hot pepper sauce and cooked on a pan, they are served by food stands as a snack food and deep fried or grilled using hot skillets. They are cut up into small pieces to be added to 해물파전 or a variety of spicy seafood soups. Dried squid may accompany alcoholic beverages such as anju. Dried squid is served with peanuts. Squid served with hot pepper paste or mayonnaise as a dip. Steamed squid and boiled squid are delicacies. In Korea, squid is made into jeotgal.
The ojingeo-jeot, thin strips of skinned, washed and fermented squid seasoned with spicy gochutgaru -based spices and minced aromatic vegetables, is a popular banchan served in small quantities as an accompaniment to bap. In Japan, similar dish is called ika-no-shiokara; the salted squid, sometimes with innards, ferments for as long as a month, is preserved in small jars. This salty, strong flavoured item is served in small quantities as an accompaniment to white rice or alcoholic beverages. In the Philippines, squid is cooked as adobong pusit, squid in adobo sauce, along with the ink, imparting a tangy flavour with fresh chillies. Battered squid rings, sold as a popular deep-fried street food called calamares in the Philippines, is served with alioli, mayonnaise or chilli vinegar. Squid is grilled on charcoal, brushed with a soy sauce-based marinade, stuffed with tomato and onions. Another recipe is rellenong pusit, stuffed with finely-chopped vegetables, squid fat, ground pork. A variant of pancit noodles is pancit pusit, pancit bihon with squid added, along with the ink, giving the noodles its dark color.
In India and Sri Lanka, squid or cuttlefish is eaten in coastal areas for example, in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Squid are eaten as squid gravy. In Kerala and Tamil Nadu, squid are called kanava or kadamba. In Egypt and Turkey, squid rings and arms are coated in batter and fried in oil. Other recipes from these regions feature squid simmered with added vegetables. In Greek or Turkish cuisine, there is a stuffed squid dish. In Lebanon and Turkey, fried squid is served with tarator, a sauce made using tahini. Like many seafood dishes, it may be served with a slice of lemon. Fried squid is a dish in Mediterranean cuisine, it consists of batter-coated squid, deep-fried for less than two minutes to prevent toughness. It is served plain, with lemon on the side. In Spain, has the calamari rings covered in a thick batter, deep fried, with lemon juice and mayonnaise or garlic mayonnaise. Battered and fried baby squid is puntillitas. Squid stewed in its own black ink is called calamares en su tinta or chipirones en su tinta resulting a black stew-like dish in which squid meat is tender and is accompanied by a thick black sauce made with onion, squid ink, among others.
In Spain and Italy, squid or cuttlefish ink is eaten in dishes such as paella, risotto and pasta. In Italy, Spain and Croatia, squid rings and arms are coated in batter and fried in oil. Other recipes from these regions feature squid simmered with vegetables such as squash or tomato; when frying, the squid flesh is kept tender by short cooking time. When simmering, the flesh is most tender. In Portugal, lulas are eate
Middle East
The Middle East is a transcontinental region centered on Western Asia and Egypt. Saudi Arabia is geographically the largest Middle Eastern nation; the corresponding adjective is Middle Eastern and the derived noun is Middle Easterner. The term has come into wider usage as a replacement of the term Near East beginning in the early 20th century. Arabs, Persians and Azeris constitute the largest ethnic groups in the region by population. Arabs constitute the largest ethnic group in the region by a clear margin. Indigenous minorities of the Middle East include Jews, Assyrians, Copts, Lurs, Samaritans, Shabaks and Zazas. European ethnic groups that form a diaspora in the region include Albanians, Circassians, Crimean Tatars, Franco-Levantines, Italo-Levantines. Among other migrant populations are Chinese, Indians, Pakistanis, Pashtuns and sub-Saharan Africans; the history of the Middle East dates back to ancient times, with the importance of the region being recognized for millennia. Several major religions have their origins in the Middle East, including Judaism and Islam.
The Middle East has a hot, arid climate, with several major rivers providing irrigation to support agriculture in limited areas such as the Nile Delta in Egypt, the Tigris and Euphrates watersheds of Mesopotamia, most of what is known as the Fertile Crescent. Most of the countries that border the Persian Gulf have vast reserves of crude oil, with monarchs of the Arabian Peninsula in particular benefiting economically from petroleum exports; the term "Middle East" may have originated in the 1850s in the British India Office. However, it became more known when American naval strategist Alfred Thayer Mahan used the term in 1902 to "designate the area between Arabia and India". During this time the British and Russian Empires were vying for influence in Central Asia, a rivalry which would become known as The Great Game. Mahan realized not only the strategic importance of the region, but of its center, the Persian Gulf, he labeled the area surrounding the Persian Gulf as the Middle East, said that after Egypt's Suez Canal, it was the most important passage for Britain to control in order to keep the Russians from advancing towards British India.
Mahan first used the term in his article "The Persian Gulf and International Relations", published in September 1902 in the National Review, a British journal. The Middle East, if I may adopt a term which I have not seen, will some day need its Malta, as well as its Gibraltar. Naval force has the quality of mobility; the British Navy should have the facility to concentrate in force if occasion arise, about Aden and the Persian Gulf. Mahan's article was reprinted in The Times and followed in October by a 20-article series entitled "The Middle Eastern Question," written by Sir Ignatius Valentine Chirol. During this series, Sir Ignatius expanded the definition of Middle East to include "those regions of Asia which extend to the borders of India or command the approaches to India." After the series ended in 1903, The Times removed quotation marks from subsequent uses of the term. Until World War II, it was customary to refer to areas centered around Turkey and the eastern shore of the Mediterranean as the "Near East", while the "Far East" centered on China, the Middle East meant the area from Mesopotamia to Burma, namely the area between the Near East and the Far East.
In the late 1930s, the British established the Middle East Command, based in Cairo, for its military forces in the region. After that time, the term "Middle East" gained broader usage in Europe and the United States, with the Middle East Institute founded in Washington, D. C. in 1946, among other usage. The description Middle has led to some confusion over changing definitions. Before the First World War, "Near East" was used in English to refer to the Balkans and the Ottoman Empire, while "Middle East" referred to Iran, the Caucasus, Central Asia, Turkestan. In contrast, "Far East" referred to the countries of East Asia With the disappearance of the Ottoman Empire in 1918, "Near East" fell out of common use in English, while "Middle East" came to be applied to the re-emerging countries of the Islamic world. However, the usage "Near East" was retained by a variety of academic disciplines, including archaeology and ancient history, where it describes an area identical to the term Middle East, not used by these disciplines.
The first official use of the term "Middle East" by the United States government was in the 1957 Eisenhower Doctrine, which pertained to the Suez Crisis. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles defined the Middle East as "the area lying between and including Libya on the west and Pakistan on the east and Iraq on the North and the Arabian peninsula to the south, plus the Sudan and Ethiopia." In 1958, the State Department explained that the terms "Near East" and "Middle East" were interchangeable, defined the region as including only Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar. The Associated Press Styleboo
Squid
Squid are cephalopods in the superorder Decapodiformes with elongated bodies, large eyes, eight arms and two tentacles. Like all other cephalopods, squid have a distinct head, bilateral symmetry, a mantle, they are soft-bodied, like octopuses, but have a small internal skeleton in the form of a rod-like gladius or pen, made of chitin. Squid diverged from other cephalopods during the Jurassic and occupy a similar role to teleost fish as open water predators of similar size and behaviour, they play an important role in the open water food web. The two long tentacles are used to grab the eight arms to hold and control it; the beak cuts the food into suitable size chunks for swallowing. Squid are rapid swimmers, moving by jet propulsion, locate their prey by sight, they are among the most intelligent of invertebrates, with groups of Humboldt squid having been observed hunting cooperatively. They are preyed on by sharks, other fish, sea birds and cetaceans sperm whales. Squid can change colour for signalling.
Some species are bioluminescent, using their light for counter-illumination camouflage, while many species can eject a cloud of ink to distract predators. Squid are used for human consumption with commercial fisheries in Japan, the Mediterranean, the southwestern Atlantic, the eastern Pacific and elsewhere, they are used in cuisines around the world known as "calamari". Squid have featured in literature since classical times in tales of giant squid and sea monsters. Squid are members of the class Cephalopoda, subclass Coleoidea; the squid orders Myopsida and Oegopsida are in the superorder Decapodiformes. Two other orders of decapodiform cephalopods are called squid, although they are taxonomically distinct from squids and differ recognizably in their gross anatomical features, they are the bobtail squid of order Sepiolida and the ram's horn squid of the monotypic order Spirulida. The vampire squid, however, is more related to the octopuses than to any squid; the cladogram, not resolved, is based on Sanchez et al, 2018.
Their molecular phylogeny used nuclear DNA marker sequences. If it is accepted that Sepiidae cuttlefish are a kind of squid the squids, excluding the vampire squid, form a clade as illustrated. Orders are shown in boldface. Crown coleoids diverged in the Permian. Squid diverged during the Jurassic. Both the coleoids and the teleost fish were involved in much adaptive radiation at this time, the two modern groups resemble each other in size, habitat and behaviour, however some fish moved into fresh water while the coleoids remained in marine environments; the ancestral coleoid was nautiloid-like with a strait septate shell that became immersed in the mantle and was used for buoyancy control. Four lines diverged from this, the cuttlefishes, the squids and the octopuses. Squid have differentiated from the ancestral mollusc such that the body plan has been condensed antero-posteriorly and extended dorso-ventrally. What may have been the foot of the ancestor is modified into a complex set of appendages around the mouth.
The sense organs are developed and include advanced eyes similar to those of vertebrates. The ancestral shell has been lost, with pen, remaining; the pen, made of a chitin-like material, is a feather-shaped internal structure that supports the squid's mantle and serves as a site for muscle attachment. The cuttlebone or sepion of the Sepiidae is calcareous and appears to have evolved afresh in the Tertiary. Squid are soft-bodied molluscs whose forms have been modified to adopt an active predatory lifestyle; the head and foot of the squid are at one end of a long body, this end is functionally anterior, leading the animal as it moves through the water. The foot has been transformed into a set of eight arms and two distinctive tentacles, which surround the mouth; the suckers may be stalked. Their rims may contain minute toothlike denticles; these features, as well as strong musculature, a small ganglion beneath each sucker to allow individual control, provide a powerful adhesion to grip prey. Hooks are present on the arms and tentacles in some species.
The two tentacles are retractile. Suckers are limited to the spatulate tip of the tentacle, known as the manus. In the mature male, the outer half of one of the left arms is hectocotylised – and ends in a copulatory pad rather than suckers; this is used for depositing a spermatophore inside the mantle cavity of a female. A ventral part of the foot has been converted into a funnel through which water exits the mantle cavity; the main body mass is enclosed in the mantle. These fins are not the main source of locomotion in most species; the mantle wall is muscled and internal. The visceral mass, covered by a thin, membranous epidermis, forms a cone-shaped posterior region known as the "visceral hump"; the mollusc shell is reduced to an internal, longitudinal chitinous "pen" in the functionally dorsal part of the animal. On the functionally ventral part of the body is an opening to the m
Taramasalata
Taramasalata or taramosalata is a Greek meze made from tarama, the salted and cured roe of the cod, carp, or grey mullet mixed with olive oil, lemon juice, a starchy base of bread or potatoes, or sometimes almonds. Variants may include vinegar instead of lemon juice. While not traditionally Greek, rather than cured, cod's roe is more available in some places, used. Bottarga is much more expensive than cod's roe. Traditionally the dish is made with a pestle and mortar, giving a grainy texture, but commercial taramasalata is blended to a smooth paste. Taramasalata is eaten as a meze, a dip for bread or raw vegetables; the colour can vary from creamy beige depending on the type of roe and colourings used. Most taramasalata sold commercially is dyed pink, but high quality taramasalata is always beige in colour. In Greece, taramasalata is associated with the first day of Great Lent. Tarama is the salted roe itself, but sometimes the prepared dish is called tarama; the spelling taramosalata reflects the Greek.
A similar dip or spread, salată de icre is common in Romania and Bulgaria. It is made with pike or carp roe but with sunflower or vegetable oil instead of olive oil, sometimes with a thickener like white bread, it is mass-produced and is available in grocery shops and supermarkets, as well as being made at home, in which case chopped onions are added. A dip, fasole bătută or fasole făcăluită, prepared with mashed beans, sunflower oil and chopped onions, is sometimes called icre de fasole. List of condiments List of dips
Balkans
The Balkans known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographic area in southeastern Europe with various definitions and meanings, including geopolitical and historical. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the whole of Bulgaria from the Serbian-Bulgarian border to the Black Sea coast; the Balkan Peninsula is bordered by the Adriatic Sea on the northwest, the Ionian Sea on the southwest, the Aegean Sea in the south and southeast, the Black Sea on the east and northeast. The northern border of the peninsula is variously defined; the highest point of the Balkans is 2,925 metres, in the Rila mountain range. The concept of the Balkan peninsula was created by the German geographer August Zeune in 1808, who mistakenly considered the Balkan Mountains the dominant mountain system of Southeast Europe spanning from the Adriatic Sea to the Black Sea; the term of Balkan Peninsula was a synonym for European Turkey in the 19th century, the former provinces of the Ottoman Empire in Southeast Europe.
It had a geopolitical rather than a geographical definition, further promoted during the creation of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in the early 20th century. The definition of the Balkan peninsula's natural borders do not coincide with the technical definition of a peninsula and hence modern geographers reject the idea of a Balkan peninsula, while scholars discuss the Balkans as a region; the term has acquired a stigmatized and pejorative meaning related to the process of Balkanization, hence the rather used alternative term for the region is Southeast Europe. The word Balkan comes from Ottoman Turkish balkan'chain of wooded mountains'; the origin of the Turkic word is obscure. From classical antiquity through the Middle Ages, the Balkan Mountains were called by the local Thracian name Haemus. According to Greek mythology, the Thracian king Haemus was turned into a mountain by Zeus as a punishment and the mountain has remained with his name. A reverse name scheme has been suggested. D. Dechev considers that Haemus is derived from a Thracian word *saimon,'mountain ridge'.
A third possibility is that "Haemus" derives from the Greek word "haema" meaning'blood'. The myth relates to a fight between the monster/titan Typhon. Zeus injured Typhon with a thunder bolt and Typhon's blood fell on the mountains, from which they got their name; the earliest mention of the name appears in an early 14th-century Arab map, in which the Haemus mountains are referred to as Balkan. The first attested time the name "Balkan" was used in the West for the mountain range in Bulgaria was in a letter sent in 1490 to Pope Innocent VIII by Buonaccorsi Callimaco, an Italian humanist and diplomat; the Ottomans first mention it in a document dated from 1565. There has been no other documented usage of the word to refer to the region before that, although other Turkic tribes had settled in or were passing through the Peninsula. There is a claim about an earlier Bulgar Turkic origin of the word popular in Bulgaria, however it is only an unscholarly assertion; the word was used by the Ottomans in Rumelia in its general meaning of mountain, as in Kod̲j̲a-Balkan, Čatal-Balkan, Ungurus-Balkani̊, but it was applied to the Haemus mountain.
The name is still preserved in Central Asia with the Balkan Daglary and the Balkan Province of Turkmenistan. English traveler John Morritt introduced this term into the English literature at the end of the 18th-century, other authors started applying the name to the wider area between the Adriatic and the Black Sea; the concept of the "Balkans" was created by the German geographer August Zeune in 1808, who mistakenly considered it as the dominant central mountain system of Southeast Europe spanning from the Adriatic Sea to the Black Sea. During the 1820s, "Balkan became the preferred although not yet exclusive term alongside Haemus among British travelers... Among Russian travelers not so burdened by classical toponymy, Balkan was the preferred term"; the term was not used in geographical literature until the mid-19th century because then scientists like Carl Ritter warned that only the part South of the Balkan Mountains can be considered as a peninsula and considered it to be renamed as "Greek peninsula".
Other prominent geographers who didn't agree with Zeune were Hermann Wagner, Theobald Fischer, Marion Newbigin, Albrecht Penck, while Austrian diplomat Johann Georg von Hahn in 1869 for the same territory used the term Südostereuropäische Halbinsel. Another reason it was not accepted as the definition of European Turkey had a similar land extent. However, after the Congress of Berlin there was a political need for a new term and the Balkans was revitalized, but in the maps the northern border was in Serbia and Montenegro without Greece, while Yugoslavian maps included Croatia and Bosnia; the term Balkan Peninsula was a synonym for European Turkey, the political borders of former Ottoman Empire provinces. The usage of the term changed in the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century when was embraced by Serbian geographers, most prominently by Jovan Cvijić, it was done with political reasoning as affirmation for Serbian nationalism on the whole territory of the South Slavs, included anthropological and ethnological studies of the South Slavs through which were claimed various nationalistic and racistic theories.
Through such policies and Yugoslavian maps the term was elevated to the modern status of
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