Falafel in health-food stores. While often used to make veggie burgers, it has become more widely 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 meatballs into vegetarian dishes. Falafel is made from fava beans or chickpeas. The use of chickpeas is predominant in most Middle Eastern countries, such as Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Syria. This version is the most popular in the West. In Egypt, fava beans, chickpeas, or often a combination of the two may be used. When chickpeas are used,
Dumpling the area. The original recipe consistsof only minced meat (lamb or beef and pork mixed), onions, chili pepper, salt and cumin. Modern recipes use herbs like parsley and coriander. In Muslim-majority areas the use of beef and lamb is more prevalent. Mushrooms, potatoes, or cheese may be used in place of meat. Pierogi of Poland, varenyky of Ukraine, pelmeni of Russia and Belarus are ravioli-like crescent-shaped dumplings filled with savoury or sweet filling. Varenyky are usually boiled or steamed. Pierogi are often fried after boiling. "Little ears", variously called "uszka" in Poland, "ushki" (ушки) in Russia, "vushka" (вушка) in Ukraine,