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Hana Baba

Hana Baba is a reporter and Co-Host of Crosscurrents, a daily radio newsmagazine that broadcasts on KALW Public Radio in the San Francisco Bay Area.  

On a national level, Hana does freelance writing and reporting on ethnic communities, poverty, health, culture, religion, and the arts.  Her radio work has appeared on various NPR programs, and PRI's The World.  Her articles have appeared on New America Media and the Sudan Tribune.  A Sudanese-American, Hana also reports from and about Sudan and Sudanese, and is fluent in Arabic.

Hana has moderated panel discussions on local media and journalism, broadcast on radio and television.  She also is a bilingual English/Arabic voice-over talent,  and is the voice of the audio tour of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art's permanent exhibit.

The Salt
4:01 am
Sat October 13, 2012

When It Comes To Falafel, The Flavors Of Home Can Vary

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Credit Rashad Baba / Courtesy Nawal Elbager
The reporter's mother, Nawal Elbager, of Khartoum, Sudan, shows off her falafel.
Credit Cindy Carpien / NPR
This Eqyptian-style falafel is made with fava beans, not garbanzo beans.
Credit Cindy Carpien / NPR
Leila Sfeir mixes her Lebanese-style falafel, which includes lots of green herbs.
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Originally published on Sat October 13, 2012 2:38 pm

Falafel — those crispy, filling fried balls of mashed beans, herbs and spices — is found in cafes and homes all over the Middle East and parts of Africa. It's like a common language shared among sometimes fractious nations.

But until recently, I always thought falafel was made one way — garbanzo beans, onion, garlic, parsley, cilantro and cumin. (That's how my Sudanese mother taught me.) But it turns out there are many recipes out there, each with a flavor distinct to its region.

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