This falafel recipe will satisfy your taste buds and you will not look farther. The recipe is easy to follow and replicate, just follow the steps.
What is falafel?
The most common version of Falafel is a dish of spiced mashed chickpeas formed into balls and deep-fried, usually eaten with salads or wrapped in a pitta bread. The origins of Falafel is from Middle East. The word falafel is of Arabic origins and means “small tasty food”.
Falafel is now a very common and popular in North America and Europe too and served often in street food markets. It is gaining popularity as it is vegan and a good alternative for those following a plant based diet.
What are the ingredients for falafel?
Chickpeas: Chickpeas are the major player of the falafel. You should not use canned chickpeas for falafel because they are overly tender and too juicy. Soak the chickpeas overnight for 12-24 hours with water exceeding the height of the chickpeas by 5 centimeters (2 inches). Prepare 4 cups (650 grams/23 oz) chickpeas
Boil with fresh water until tender. Taste a few The chickpeas double when boiled. Chickpeas more than double in size when boiled.
Parsley, onion and garlic: These will add juice and flavor to the mixture.
- Peel and quarter the onion, 1 or 2 small onions of 160 grams/5.6 oz.
- Add a peeled garlic clove, about 10 grams/0,35 oz.
- 5-6 sprigs of parsley will be enough, do not add too much or your falafel will become green.
Spices: Cumin, coriander, red pepper flakes, salt and black pepper will be enough to make your falafel tasty.
Flour: Use flour cautiously, if you add too much there with be a flour taste and the chances are your falafel will become too hard on the crust and too soft in the middle. Add the flour last, after checking the texture you have obtained and add in tablespoon increments.
How to make falafel from scratch?
Pat dry the chickpeas with a clean kitchen towel or paper towels. Toss all the ingredients listed below in a food processor.
If you have a small type of food processor work in batches. Do not forget to scrape the sides, so everything gets well combined. Blitz until everything is well chopped, but not turned into a powder.
When you are finished with the food processor, taste and add a pinch of more salt or drizzle some more lemon juice if you need to. Mix again. Take about a tablespoon of the mixture in your hand and see if you can make a ball out of it. If it is too crumbly and doesn’t hold enough, as you can see in the picture below add a tablespoon of flour, mix and test again. Repeat until you can make a falafel ball and stop adding flour. I added only 1 tablespoon.
You are almost there! Cover the bowl (or the food processor if you do not want to create an additional bowl to wash) and chill in the fridge for at least half an hour. This will let the flavors blend and shaping will be easier when the mixture is cold.
When you are making falafel balls keep in mind that the ball should be soft and a bit crumbly, if you add too much flour it will shape perfectly, but it will be very hard on the outside and too soft on the inside and you will taste the flour while eating.
How to cook falafel?
Some dishes are best when fried, falafel is one of them. Use a pot that is small but tall, so you can use less oil. The best temperature for frying is 176–190°Celsius (350–375°F). With this temperature the falafel will cook instantly on the outside, this way it will soak up less fat. Choose an oil with a high smoke point and neutral flavor such as olive oil, coconut oil, peanut oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, corn oil or vegetable oil. I use sunflower oil, if not a light olive oil for frying.
Heat the oil to the desired temperature, you can test with tossing in a piece of bread if it sizzles instantly you can start adding the falafel. Fry in batches as the temperature of the oil will change if you overcrowd the pot. Gently drop the falafels into the oil. Move around and switch sides often and take out when browned and crispy on all sides. Prepare a plate with paper towels to soak up the extra oil.
Serve immediately either in a wrap, on a salad or just by itself. In our wrap we had home made Cucumber Pickles and Beetroot Hummus.
Enjoy and share!
Falafel Recipe
Equipment
- Food processor
Ingredients
- 4 cups soaked chickpeas
- 1-2 onions (160 grams)
- 2 garlic cloves (10 grams)
- 5-6 sprigs parsley
- ½ teaspoon coriander
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- sun flower oil to fry
Instructions
- Soak the chickpeas overnight for 12-24 hours in covering water. Rinse before boiling and add fresh water. Cook until tender. Taste a few to check. Save a couple of chickpeas for garnish.
- Peel and quarter the onions.
- Peel th garlic cloves.
- Add all the ingredients, except the few chickpeas and the flour, into the food processor.
- If the food processor is not large enough, work in batches.
- When all is chopped, but not turned into a powder taste and adjust the salt and lemon to your taste.
- Blitz the food processor one last time and test the consistency. If the mixture is not holding up enough to make small falafel balls add a tablespoon of flour.
- Mix and try to make a falafel ball again, if you are able to make a ball you are ready, if not add another tablespoon of flour.
- Make small falafel balls. Let chill in the fridge for at least half an hour.
- Heat the frying oil in a small tall pot.
- Fry the falafel balls until crispy and brown on all sides.
- Take out from the oil onto a plate with paper towels to soak up the excess oil.
- Serve while still warm on a salad, in a wrap or as they are.
Notes
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