Green Falafel | Vegan Falafel
Green Falafel is a variation of the delicious falafel that is made with herbs, dried chickpeas and spices. This Vegan Falafel made with chickpeas and fresh parsley has a crispy exterior with a tender, flavorful interior.
Servings: 4
Calories: 276kcal
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried white chickpeas - chana
- 1 cup parsley - fresh or cilantro (coriander leaves) or half-half of both
- ¼ cup onions - chopped, 35 grams
- 3 to 4 garlic cloves - small to medium-sized, peeled & roughly chopped
- 1 teaspoon Ground Coriander (coriander powder)
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin (cumin powder)
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper or crushed black pepper
- ½ teasooon cayenne pepper or red chilli powder or paprika
- ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric (turmeric powder), optional
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon lemon juice - optional
- salt as required
- 1 to 4 tablespoons water - add only if required while blending or grinding chickpeas
- oil - as needed for deep frying
Instructions
Making green falafel 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 a few times. Drain very well again.
- Then add the soaked chickpeas 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. Also add the roughly chopped onions and chopped garlic.
- Further add the 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 if you prefer for a faint tang.
- Grind the mixture in small intervals of time or pulse it to get a semi-coarse or semi-fine texture.
- Take all the ground mixture in a bowl.
- Make a few small to medium sized balls from the mixture.
Frying vegan falafel
- Heat oil for shallow frying or deep frying in a pan or wok. Roll a small tiny 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 to the mixture and combine the flour with it.
- Place the shaped and prepared small to medium sized balls carefully 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 they get light golden, gently turn over and fry the other side.
- Fry them till they become crisp and are golden, turning over as needed with a slotted spoon.
- Remove them with a slotted spoon.
- Place them on kitchen paper towels so that they absorb extra oil.
- In the same way, use up the remaining mixture, shape into round balls and fry the vegan falafel in batches.
- Serve Green Falafel 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 or naan with toppings of your choice.
Notes
- Feel free to include your choice of soft fresh herbs like basil, mint, chives, cilantro, oregano, garlic chives, dill and parsley.
- Keep in mind that the flavor and taste of the green falafel will vary with the kind of herbs you use.
- Make sure to fry the shaped falafel patties in medium hot oil.
- You could also use a deep fryer to fry these vegan falafels.
- The parsley can be either curly or flat parsley. In the recipe I have used curly parsley.
Nutrition
Calories: 276kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 314mg | Potassium: 579mg | Fiber: 10g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 1349IU | Vitamin B1 (Thiamine): 1mg | Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin): 1mg | Vitamin B3 (Niacin): 1mg | Vitamin B6: 1mg | Vitamin C: 25mg | Vitamin E: 3mg | Vitamin K: 252µg | Calcium: 92mg | Vitamin B9 (Folate): 310µg | Iron: 5mg | Magnesium: 71mg | Phosphorus: 203mg | Zinc: 2mg
