Falafel is basically a fried ball made from seasoned chickpea paste, and it’s a typical meal and snack from the Middle East, often served inside pita bread with salad and sauces, very common as an appetizer or as an easy street food. This is an amazing simple snack that anyone can make at home and serve with some sauce, it’s also great for parties and celebrations, and it’s a vegetarian dish! You can have it in sandwiches and pita bread, and it also holds well to use as a light lunch. It’s delicious and nutritious 😀
This recipe turned out fantastic, however I have to note one point, this wasn’t the first time I made falafel, but this time I think I blended it a bit too much which made the falafel a little softer, so I recommend not blending too much and leaving the mixture a bit rustic, or even crushing it with a fork or part of it, dont get me wrong they were delicious, but i prefer a more rustic dense texture on my falafels hahahaha. Also note that many recipes don’t cook the chickpeas beforehand; in those versions, the chickpeas are just soaked in water with a bit of baking soda and then blended raw and only cook when frying. In those versions, no flour is added. But let’s get to the recipe!
Homemade Middle Eastern Crispy Falaffel • Fried Chickpeas Balls
Who doesnt love some crispy creamy balls of chickpeas heheheh, ok that does sound weird, but trust me, they are easy to make and delicious.
Ingredients
- Chickpeas – 400g (Already Cooked)
- Onion – 1 Large
- Garlic – 2 Cloves
- Parsley – 3 Tablespoons
- Coriander Seeds – 1 Teaspoon
- Cumin – 1 Teaspoon
- Flour – 4 Tablespoons
- Oil – For Frying
- Pepper – A Pinch
- Salt – A Pinch
Directions
- If you don’t have any pre-cooked chickpeas, start by cooking the rehydrated chickpeas in a pan with plenty of hot water and a pinch of baking soda.
- Now add the strained chickpeas, chopped onion and garlic, parsley, coriander seeds, cumin, flour, salt, and pepper to a bowl, mix, and then mash. Don’t mash too much; you don’t want a super smooth paste. If you want to mash with a fork, then finely chop the onion and garlic before adding, taste, and adjust the salt and pepper.
- Once you have the dough, roll it into balls, all the same size. You can then freeze the balls and fry them later, or you can fry them now.
- Heat the oil, you can deep fry them in a fryer or shallow fry them in a frying pan, fry until golden brown and that’s it, you can serve them as they are with a garlic sauce or as part of a sandwich, its that simple, drain on a rack and ready to eat, bon appétit.
Traditional recipes often use raw soaked chickpeas (no cooking, just overnight soaking with baking soda), which creates a lighter, crispier falafel and requires no flour. This recipe uses cooked chickpeas for convenience, which is why flour is needed to bind everything better.
One of the variations of falafel balls is to coat them in breadcrumbs before frying for extra crunch. You can also make smaller balls for bite-sized appetizers, perfect for parties!
These freeze beautifully! Shape the balls and freeze them on a tray, then transfer to a freezer bag. Fry straight from frozen, just add a minute or two of extra time to the cooking time.
Serve with tahini sauce, garlic yogurt sauce, or even a simple cucumber and tomato salad. They’re incredible, stuffed into warm pita bread with pickles and hot sauce!
Make sure your oil is properly hot (around 350°F / 175°C) before frying. If it’s not hot enough, the falafel will absorb too much oil and become greasy, also drain them properly in a rack or kitchen paper.
This recipe for Homemade Middle Eastern Crispy Falaffel • Fried Chickpeas Balls was originally created on BakeAfter.com. Esta receita de Falafel foi publicada em português no Iguaria.com.
Nutrition
Per Serving: 110 calories; 7 g fat; 9 g carbohydrates; 2.5 g protein.Did you try this recipe?
Let me know how it turned out for you! Have you tried falafel before, or any other middle eastern food? Leave a comment below ;D
