Most Delicious Falafel Recipe For Veggies
Falafel is a deep-fried ball or patty made with ground chickpeas or fav beans, spices & herbs. These are a traditional dish from Middle Eastern cuisine and are popular across the globe as fast food.
As falafel are naturally gluten-free, vegetarian & high protein food they became very popular globally. These are great for people on a meat-free diet.
Ingredients to make falafel
- 2 cups dry chickpeas or Kabuli chana (uncooked/ raw)
- oil as needed for frying
- 1 medium onion cubed
- 1½ teaspoon cumin seeds or 1 tsp ground cumin
- 4 garlic cloves
- ¼ to ½ cup parsley chopped
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander (powder)
- ¼ teaspoon ground pepper (powder)
- ¼ teaspoon red chilli powder or ground cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)
- 2 tablespoons chickpea flour or all-purpose flour (optional)
Preparation for falafel
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Wash and soak chickpeas for overnight or at least for 6 hours.
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Discard the water and rinse them well. Drain them to a colander.
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Process together chickpeas, cumin, coriander, pepper, cayenne, salt, onion, garlic, parsley and flour to a coarse mixture.
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The mixture must resemble wheat semolina or couscous.
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If the mixture is not processed well the balls can break in the oil. Refrigerate for an hour if possible.
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Heat oil in a deep pan just enough to half immerse the falafel.
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The trick I found to prevent the falafels from disintegrating is to use oil just enough to half immerse them.
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Optional: Make a very small ball and drop it in the hot oil to check if it is binding well. It should not break or fall apart.
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If it breaks, then add more flour or process the mixture a bit more.
Frying falafel
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Make lemon sized balls and press them gently to bind the mixture well.
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If you have added flour then you may slightly flatten them.
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Gently slide them one after the other to the hot oil. Do not disturb them for a minute or two.
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Deep fry them on a medium flame until golden & crisp. Remove the falafel to a steel colander or kitchen towel.
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Serve falafel with a favourite dip or as a stuffing in pita bread or wraps.
For serving
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To make tahini sauce – I used ¾ cup tahini, ¼ cup + 2 tbsp warm water, 2 large garlic cloves, 2 tbsp. lemon juice, salt as needed, 2 tsp finely chopped fresh parsley. Process all the ingredients in a processor until pale, creamy and thick
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To make a quick yogurt dip, use ¾ cup greek yogurt or hung curd, 1 tsp lemon juice, salt, 1 garlic clove, deseeded green chilli (optional). Blend them and add parsley.
You can very easily bake these in the mornings for breakfast or lunch box. My kid’s love these plain with some garlic yoghurt dip for their breakfast. I also wrap these in the parathas or Rotis along with some fresh veggies & tahini sauce for the lunch box.
