Falafel
Falafel consists of deep-fried golden fritters crafted from ground chickpeas or fava beans blended with fresh coriander, parsley, garlic, and earthy spices like cumin. Crunchy on the outside, each patty gives way to a tender, vibrant green interior packed with rich, nutty, and herbaceous flavours.
Cuisines
Cooking Instructions
Cooking: 15 minutes
Notes:
Refrigerating the blended mixture for at least 1 hour helps the falafel balls hold their shape securely during deep-frying.
Adding breadcrumbs helps absorb any residual moisture from the herbs and onion for a firmer mixture.
Baking soda is essential for creating a light, airy, and fluffy texture inside the falafels.
Soak Chickpeas
Place the dried chickpeas in a large bowl, cover generously with cold water, and leave to soak overnight for at least 12 to 24 hours until doubled in size, then wash and drain thoroughly.
Blend Herbs and Aromatics
In a food processor, combine the fresh coriander, flat-leaf parsley, garlic cloves, and roughly chopped onion. Pulse for 1 minute until finely chopped.
Process Falafel Mixture
Add the drained soaked chickpeas, salt, ground cumin, paprika, black pepper, and baking soda to the food processor. Process until smooth yet coarsely crumbly. Transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl, stir in the breadcrumbs until fully combined, cover with cling film, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Shape and Deep-Fry
Shape the chilled mixture into 2.5cm balls using your hands. Heat vegetable oil in a deep saucepan or fryer to 180°C. Deep-fry the falafels in small batches for 3 minutes until deep golden brown and crisp, then transfer to paper towels to drain before serving in pitta bread with tahini sauce.
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Ingredients
| Dried Chickpeas | 400g |
| Fresh Coriander | ½ bunch |
| Flat-Leaf Parsley | ⅓ bunch |
| Garlic | 4 cloves |
| Onion | 1 |
| Salt | 1¼ tsp |
| Ground Cumin | 1 tsp |
| Paprika | 1 tsp |
| Black Pepper | ¼ tsp |
| Baking Soda | 2 tsp |
| Breadcrumbs | 30g |
| Vegetable Oil | 1l |
