Ta’ameya

A familiar comparison

Most readers know ta’ameya’s better-traveled descendant: chickpea falafel, found on menus worldwide. Ta’ameya is the older Egyptian version, made with dried fava beans instead of chickpeas, and it carries a nutritional difference worth noting — fava beans are markedly higher in fiber than chickpeas gram for gram, which shows up clearly in the figures below. The bright green interior, from the large quantity of fresh herbs blended in, is also more pronounced than in most Levantine falafel.

History

Ta’ameya is a fried fritter made from peeled dried fava beans (rather than chickpeas as in Levantine falafel), blended with a generous amount of fresh herbs (coriander, parsley, dill), onion and garlic, which gives it a bright green interior contrasting with the golden, crispy exterior achieved through frying. Many food historians consider Egyptian ta’ameya the likely ancestor of the chickpea falafel better known internationally today, its origin sometimes traced to Egypt’s Coptic Christian communities, who reportedly used it as a meat substitute during fasting periods.

Eaten daily in Egypt for breakfast, often tucked into flatbread with salad, tahini and pickled vegetables, ta’ameya remains sold by countless street stalls throughout Cairo and across the country, at extremely affordable prices that make it a staple food for a large share of the Egyptian population, urban and rural alike.

Ingredients — makes 20 fritters

• 400 g dried peeled fava beans, soaked 24h
• 1 large bunch each of coriander, parsley, dill
• 1 onion, 3 garlic cloves
• Cumin, ground coriander, baking soda
• Sesame seeds, frying oil

Step-by-step Egyptian ta’ameya recipe

1. Drain the soaked fava beans, then blend them with the fresh herbs, onion and garlic until you get a fairly fine green paste.
2. Stir in the cumin, ground coriander and baking soda, and mix well.
3. Let the mixture rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to firm up.
4. Shape into small flattened patties and roll them in sesame seeds.
5. Heat the frying oil and fry the patties until golden and crisp.
6. Drain on paper towels and serve hot, in flatbread with salad and tahini.

Cooking method

Technique: quick, high-heat frying for a crisp exterior while the inside stays bright green and tender.

Traditional equipment: metal ta’ameya mold for quickly shaping even patties, large street-vendor fryer.

Tips: never blend the fava beans into a fully liquid purée; the paste needs to stay firm enough to hold together while frying.

Nutrition, per serving

Calculated from the raw ingredient quantities above, based on five fritters per serving (four servings from a batch of twenty).

Notable amounts: fiber is exceptionally high at roughly 27 g per serving — close to a full day’s typical intake — driven by the dried fava beans, which carry about twice the fiber of chickpeas per 100 g. Saturated fat stays low throughout, since the fat here comes mainly from the frying oil and sesame seeds rather than any animal source.

Economic context

Dried fava beans are one of the least expensive protein sources in the Egyptian diet, which is part of why ta’ameya remains a fixture of cheap, widely available street food and breakfast stalls across the country rather than a special-occasion dish.

Source: World Bank / FAO, Food Prices for Nutrition database (Cost and Affordability of a Healthy Diet) v4.0, 2024 data, CC BY 4.0, DOI 10.57966/41AN-KY81. Retrieved 29 July 2026. This figure describes the cost of a healthy diet in Egypt generally — it is not a costing of this specific recipe.

Who this dish suits

What about you?

In your opinion, where’s the best place or restaurant to enjoy good ta’ameya?

Also worth trying