Saturday, June 26, 2010

Falafel

Falafel is a fried ball or patty made from ground chickpeas/garbanzo beans. The Egyptians variety uses fava beans while chickpeas are commonly used in other Middles Eastern countries. Falafel is usually served in a pita which acts as a pocket or wrapped in flat bread known as lafa. It is topped with salads, pickle vegetables and hot sauce, and drizzle with tahini based sauce. Falafel balls may also be eaten alone as snacks. It has great source of protein, complex carbohydrates and fiber. It is hearty enough to replace hamburger patties and meatballs in vegetarian dishes. Besides frying you can also baked it but by doing so it will alter the texture and flavor of the falafel. We just eat this with some spicy chili sauce as I am too lazy to make some tahini dipping sauce.


Ingredients:

6 oz dried chickpeas
1 small onion, roughly chopped
3 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
4 tbsp finely chopped fresh cilantro
1 tsp dried hot pepper flakes
3 cloves of garlic
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp baking powder
Salt to taste
5-6 tbsp of flour

1. Wash and soak chickpeas overnight. Place the drained, uncooked chickpeas and the onions in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add the parsley, cilantro, salt, hot pepper, garlic, and cumin. Process until blended but not pureed.
2. Sprinkle in the baking powder and 4 tablespoons of the flour, and pulse. You want to add enough flour so that the dough will forms a small ball and no longer sticks to your hands. Turn into a bowl and refrigerate, covered for an hour.
4. Form the chickpea mixture into small. Heat 3 inches of oil to 375 degrees F in a deep pot or wok and fry 1 ball to test. If it falls apart, add a little bit more flour.
5. Then fry the balls for a few minutes on each side, or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with a bit of salt on the balls and serve warm or at room temperature with some chili sauce.

Note: You can serve the falafel with Pita bread. Just stuff half a pita with falafel balls, add some chopped tomatoes, onion, green pepper, and pickled turnips. Drizzle with some tahini sauce.

23 comments:

WendyinKK said...

Oh.... this actually looks like the south Indian snack, parrupu vadai. But that is made with whole lentils, onion, chilli and spices.
Parrupu vadai is flat and round but your version is round like a sphere.

This is something new to me :)
Thanks for sharing.

Zurin said...

ive always wanted to try this. Now i htink i will . it looks really good for a snack . esp with a chillie dip .

ReeseKitchen said...

Oh Gert, this is so special. I never try to eat this before. I'll definetely give it a try, it looks so delicious! Btw, about the fresh cilantro, is it any option for that? Thanks..:)

Lisa Ho said...

My favourite ~ Falafel Kebab.. serve with tabouli, super hot chilli sauce and sour cream..
Thanks :)

Kitchen Corner said...

Oh.. this is something new to me. It's quite a nice finger food. May be I can make this for party. Thanks for sharing!

Kristen at Batterlicker said...

I've been on a falafel kick recently after making friends with the manager of a Middle Eastern cafe down the street (he started giving me a free falafel or two while I wait, and I've gotten hooked). Can't wait to try them at home because they're delicious and, given the ingredients, have to be pretty cheap to make!

Honey Bee Sweets said...

This would be ideal for me to make for my MIL since she's a vegetarian 3 times a week. Thanks for sharing this great recipe. :)

Angie's Recipes said...

Great finger food! I have some canned chickpea in the pantry, maybe I should just try the recipe!

Shereen said...

Hah!Great mind thinks alike..wink!wink! I also made this a few days ago.

Sonia ~ Nasi Lemak Lover said...

this is new to me, must try this out one day.

busygran said...

I got to try this and eat it with raw green chilli just like vadai. Yum! Thanks for the recipe.

ann low said...

WOW! Nice finger food. This is new to me too, must bookmark it. Thanks!

Little Corner of Mine said...

Nice & healthy appetizer!

Anonymous said...

I live in San Francisco where there is a Greek Deli that sell Falafel and other things. I sometime make it myself also. Kids love it.



Tina

Jeannie said...

Looks delicious! Agreed that they looked similar to Indian vadai.

Noob Cook said...

perfect golden brown! never ate this before but I know I will like it :D~

ICook4Fun said...

Wendy, yes this actually taste pretty much like vadai minus the curry leaves and other spices. The next time I make this I am going to add some green chili and curry leaves to it.

Zurin, yes this is great with chilli sauce.

Reese, you can just omit the cilantro and add a bit more parsley.

Ho Ho Ho, is now our fav too :)

Kitchen Corner, yes great for party.

Kristen, this is really easy to make and hope you will try making it yourself.

Bee bee, yes I am sure she is going to like this.

ICook4Fun said...

Angie, canned chickpea will be good but just remember don't blend them too fine.

Shereen, ha ha we are so alike in so many ways :) :)

Sonia, hope you like this.

Busygran, yes this taste pretty much like vadai. Even my husband love it a lot.

Anncoo, hope you like this.

LCOM, thanks.

Tina, yea this is pretty easy to make.

Jeannie, if you add some green chili and some curry leaves it will be like vadai :)

Noobcook, do try this out as they were good :)

Edana said...

Found this on foodgawker...YUM! I've been looking for a good falafel recipe and will have to try these out! Do you know if it's possible to bake them instead of frying?

Thank you so much for sharing this recipe; I'll definitely be following you now!

Food For Tots said...

This is a very interesting way to eat chickpeas. Perfect as a snack! I don't think I can resist this temptation. ;)

Somewhere in Singapore said...

I'm drooling by looking at it... hehe...

Unknown said...

I love falafals. I have never tried to make it, buth this looks so easy, I actually think I can do this! Thanks!

ICook4Fun said...

Edana, thanks for stopping by and your kind comment. yes you can always bake these.

Food for tots, yes this is really good. Hope you try this out someday.

Somewhere in S'pre, :)

Glenda, yes you can :)