Falafels are a traditional Middle Eastern dish of fried chickpea balls that are usually served in a pita bread and topped with salads, pickled vegetables, spice and tahini-based sauces.
This easy falafel recipe is vegetarian, delicious and, most importantly, easy to make at home. Give this tasty dish a go.
Serves 2
Ingredients
- 160g cup dried or 320g cups soaked/tinned chickpeas (If your chickpeas are dried you will need to soak them for about 6 to 8 hours until they double in volume.)
- 100g chopped onions
- 1 clove of fresh garlic
- 70g chopped parsley
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- ½ tsp paprika
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 Tbsp sesame seeds
- 1 Tbsp dry bread crumbs
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Olive oil for frying
Instructions:
- Place chickpeas, parsley and onion in the food processor and pulse until coarse.
- Continue to pulse until you can mold a ball with the mixture – not too coarse but not too smooth either.
- Add in the spices, sesame seeds and bread crumbs and mix.
- Season to taste with salt, pepper and lemon juice.
- Heat olive oil in a pot on a medium heat.
- Form balls using a heaped table spoon of the mixture to form balls that are roughly 3-4 cm in diameter and deep fry them in the oil for about 5 to 6 minutes each.
- Cook them on medium heat so they cook well inside without becoming dark brown on the outside.
- Remove the cooked falafel balls and place them on a paper towel to absorb extra oil.
- Serve with pita bread, hummus and tahina with a simple cucumber and tomato salad.
