Falafel is a middle eastern fried snack made with chickpeas or fava beans. Here I share two foolproof and equally delicious recipes for preparing the best traditional falafel and a vibrant green falafel loaded with herbs.
Rinse 1 cup chickpeas for a couple of times in water. Then soak the chickpeas in enough water overnight or for 8 to 9 hours. Drain all of the water.
Rinse the soaked chickpeas in running water. Drain water very well again.
Blending
Then add the soaked and drained chickpeas in a grinder jar or a food processor or in a blender jar.
Add the spices, seasonings and herbs - chopped onion, chopped garlic, chopped cilantro or parsley, cayenne pepper (red chili powder), ground coriander, ground cumin, black pepper and all purpose flour.
Also add lemon juice and salt as per taste.
Process or blend the mixture in small intervals of time. Scrape the sides of the mixture and add back in the jar.
You should get a semi coarse mixture. Don't make it too pasty and smooth. Avoid adding water while grinding or processing the ingredients. If you are unable to blend without water, then you can add 1 to 3 tablespoons of water.
Take the mixture in a bowl. Check the taste and add more salt or spices if required. With a spoon or your hands mix everything well.
If the mixture is too coarse, you won't be able to shape them into balls. The consistency should be semi coarse, so that you are able to shape them in balls or patties. You can even refrigerate the mixture for some hours or a couple of days.
Checking oil temperature before frying
First lets test the falafel. Heat oil for deep frying in a pan or wok. Roll a small ball or patty from the mixture and place it in the oil.
If it does not break, then you are good to go with the frying. If it breaks then add ½ to 1 tablespoon more of the all-purpose flour.
The oil temperature is also crucial, as if the oil is not hot enough, the falafel can break.
When you place the falafel in the oil, it should come up gradually to the top. If it does not come to the top or sticks to the pan, the oil is not hot enough. If it comes too quickly and starts browning fast, the oil is very hot.
Frying falafel
Make medium sized balls from the ground mixture and place them in medium hot oil. Add the number of balls depending on the size and capacity of the wok or pan. Do not crowd the pan.
When the base gets light golden and firms up then gently turn over with a slotted spoon. Fry the other side.
Fry till they become crisp and are golden turning over as needed for a couple of times.
Drain them on kitchen paper towels to remove excess oil.
This way make falafel with the rest of the mixture.
Serve falafel as a side snack with a tahini dip or hummus. It also tastes good with cilantro chutney and even tomato sauce. You can also stuff them in pita breads.
Recipe 2 - Green Falafel
Making Mixture
Rinse and then soak 1 cup dried white chickpeas in enough water overnight for 7 to 8 hours. Later drain them well. Rinse them in running water. Drain very well again.
Then add them in a grinder jar or a food processor or in a blender jar.
Add fresh parsley or cilantro (coriander leaves) or half-half of both, roughly chopped onions, chopped garlic, coriander powder, cumin powder, black pepper powder or crushed black pepper, red chilli powder, turmeric powder (optional), all purpose flour and salt as required. You can also add ½ teaspoon lemon juice.
Process or grind the mixture in small intervals of time or pulse to get a semi-coarse mixture.
Take all the ground mixture in a bowl.
Make medium to large sized balls from the mixture.
Frying Green Falafel
Heat oil for shallow frying or deep frying in a pan or kadai. Roll a small ball or patty from the mixture and place it in the oil.
If the falafel does not break, then you are good to go with the frying. If it breaks then add ½ to 1 tablespoon more of the all purpose flour.
Make medium to large sized balls from the mixture and place them in medium hot oil. Add the number of balls depending on the size and capacity of the kadai or pan. Do not crowd the pan.
When they get light golden, gently turn over and fry the other side.
Fry them till they become crisp and are golden.
Remove them with a slotted spoon. Drain them on kitchen paper towels so that they absorb extra oil.
This way make them with the rest of the mixture.
Serve green herb falafels as a snack with a tahini dip or hummus. These also taste good with coriander chutney and even tomato ketchup. You can also stuff them in pita breads.
Video
Notes
To make gluten free version use rice flour or gram flour instead of all purpose flour.
Use dried chickpeas to get the crispy texture. Using canned chickpeas will give a completely different taste and texture. You will also require to add some more all purpose flour to bind the mixture well.
Fry falafel in medium hot oil. Before frying always check a small ball made from the mixture. It should not break or get too browned from outside. If the oil is not hot, it may absorb more oil and can also break in the oil. If the oil is too hot, it can get browned from outside too quickly leaving the insides raw. So when frying fry at a medium to medium high flame.
The consistency of the ground mixture is semi coarse or semi fine. Do not make it too coarse as the falafel balls cannot be shaped easily. But you can process or grind to a fine consistency. The resulting texture in the fried falafel will be smooth from inside but will taste good.
You can easily store ground mixture in the fridge for a day or in the freezer. Before frying let the ground mixture come at room temperature.
The nutrition info is for one serving of classic traditional falafel.