Traditional Falafel Recipe | Healthy Recipe

Falafel is a deep-fried ball or a flat shaped patty made from ground chickpeas, herbs, onion and spices.

Ultra crispy on the outside, moist and fluffy on the inside, everybody loves them. The best part is breaking open the golden brown balls to reveal the dazzling green insides!

INGREDIENTS:

• 450 g dried chickpeas
• cold water for soaking
• 1/2 cup fresh coriander leaves or parsley
• 1 small red onion, diced
• 1 tsp coriander seeds, crushed
• 2 tsp cumin powder
• 1/4 tsp black pepper, ground
• 1/4 tsp red chilli powder
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1-1/2 tbsp plain flour or gram/chickpea flour
• 2 tsp salt or to taste
• 1/3 cup water
• oil for frying

DIRECTIONS:

Pour the chickpeas into a large bowl and cover them by about 3 inches of cold water. Let them soak overnight or for at least 24 hours. They will double in size as they soak.

Drain and rinse the chickpeas/garbanzo beans well.

In a food processor add in all the ingredients except the water. (Add chickpeas, coriander leaves, red onion, flour, red chilli powder, salt, cumin powder, coriander seeds and black pepper).

NOTE: if you have a smaller food processor, you will want to divide the ingredients in half and process the mixture one batch at a time.

Pulse all ingredients together until a coarse meal forms. Add 1/3 cup of water and blend well. Periodically scrape the sides of the processor and push the mixture down the sides.

NOTE: adding a bit of water will prevent the falafel from turning hard after frying.

Process till the mixture is somewhere between the texture of couscous and a paste. Don't over process as you don't want it turning into hummus!

The mixture should hold up it's shape.

Once the mixture reaches the desired consistency, pour it out into a bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.

Form falafel mixture into round balls or patties shape using wet hands or a falafel scoop. I usually use about 1 tbsp of mixture per falafel. You can make them smaller or larger depending on your personal preference. The balls will stick together loosely at first, but will bind nicely once they begin to fry.

Fill a skillet with vegetable oil. Use enough oil for deep frying.

Heat the oil slowly over medium heat. Once hot fry the falafels in batches of 5-6 at a time till golden brown on both sides.

If the oil is at the right temperature, it will take 2-3 minutes per side to brown (5-6 minutes total). If it browns faster than that, your oil is too hot and your falafels will not be fully cooked in the center. Cool the oil down slightly and try again.

Once fried let them drain on paper towels. Serve the falafels fresh and hot; you can serve them with a plate of hummus and topped with creamy tahini sauce. You can also stuff them into a pita.

NOTES:
If the balls won't hold together, place the mixture back in the processor again and continue processing to make it more paste-like. Keep in mind that the balls will be delicate at first; if you can get them into the hot oil, they will bind together and stick. If they still won't hold together, you can try adding 2-3 tbsp of flour or chickpea flour to the mixture.

If your falafel is too hard/too crunchy on the outside, there are three possible reasons:

1) you didn't process the mixture enough, return the chickpea mixture to the processor to make it more paste-like. 

2) the chickpeas you used were old. Try buying a fresher batch of dried chickpeas next time.

3) You didn't add water.