Israel Food Fight Escalates: Lebanese Chefs Load Up The Falafel

A day after firing a 10-tonne hummus broadside in a food fight with Israel, chefs in Lebanon weighed in with another first for a Guinness record on Sunday -- five tonnes of falafel.

More than 300 chefs mixed a ton of chickpeas with an equal portion of broad beans, adding onions, garlic, coriander, onion, pepper and cumin to concoct 5,173 kilos (11,381 pounds) of falafel, a deep-fried patty popular in Lebanon and many parts of the Middle East.

10-Tonne Hummus Victory In Lebanon-Israel's Gastronomy Wars
Lebanon on Saturday claimed another victory in the continuing battle with Israel over which country can make the largest plate of the chickpea delicacy hummus -- with a 10-tonne broadside.

With a Guinness World Records representative at hand to record the feat, organisers said it was the first time any country had tried to set such a high-frying falafel record.

On Saturday, Lebanon claimed another victory in its continuing battle with Israel over which country can make the largest plate of the chickpea delicacy hummus -- with a 10-tonne platter.

More than 300 chefs in Beirut set the new record for hummus, which the Lebanese say is their national dish despite Israeli claims, in the presence of a Guinness World Records representative who confirmed its weight at 10,452 kilos (22,994 pounds).

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In January, 50 chefs in the Arab-Israeli village of Abu Ghosh near Jerusalem mashed up more than four tonnes of hummus, beating the record set in Lebanon just months previously.

Hummus is a dip made of chickpeas, sesame paste, olive oil, lemon juice and garlic.

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The hummus and falafel salvo came amid a gastronomic fight between two countries still technically at war.

Falafel, like hummus and tabbouleh (chopped tomato, onion, parsley, bruised grain salad), are the objects of a cultural quarrel between Israel and Lebanon.

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Israel exports hummus widely, and is accused of claiming an Arab dish as its own. Lebanon set the tabbouleh record last year.

Source-AFP
TAN