Falafel
This falafel recipe has been a labor of love, sweat, and tears. Well, maybe not that dramatic, but I have never failed so much on a dish than falafel. (Baking aside, but that’s another story) The first few times I tried to make falafel, I ended up with a pile of goopy grainy chickpea mess at the bottom of hot oil. On a later attempt, they somewhat resembled falafel but 90% of the falafel ball was in crumbles, again, at the bottom of the oil.
What was I doing wrong? Basically, it came down to canned versus dried chickpeas. Since I was using canned chickpeas, the starches in the dried/raw chickpeas that act as the binder were lost in the cooking and canning process. After a couple more attempts using dried chickpeas, I finally ended with this great recipe!
This falafel recipe is packed with flavor, easy to make, and turns out great every time. The nutty chickpeas burst with the flavors of garlic, onion, and parsley.
- 1 cup dried chickpeas
- 1 cup onions chopped
- 3 cloves garlic crushed
- 1 cup parsley, cilantro, and/or mint chopped
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp coriander
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 3 tbsp flour
- 4 cups vegetable oil for frying
24 hours prior - Rinse chickpeas and soak in water a large bowl. Make sure to put plenty of water as the chickpeas will triple in size.
Drain chickpeas and place all ingredients except flour in a food processor.
If your food processor is not large enough, you can mix everything in a bowl and process in batches
Process the mixture until minced but not pureed.
Add flour and pulse until combined.
Transfer mixture to a bowl, cover, and place in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
Shape and press mixture into walnut-sized balls or patties.
Heat oil in a deep pan or cast iron skillet to between 350 ºF and 375 ºF.
Test fry one ball and if successful, fry 4-5 balls at a time for 3-4 minutes until golden brown.
Drain on a paper towel and serve with garnish and sauce.
I like to use tomatoes, cucumber, and red onion as garnish, and tzatziki, hummus, or tahini for sauces.
Rating added.