Falafels are deep-fried chickpea and parsley balls or patty fritters, popular in middle-eastern cuisine. Made crisp outside and tender inside, these vegetarian appetizers are eaten with tahini sauce and used in wraps, pitas, sandwiches or salads.
Having eaten falafels in Mediterranean restaurants across United States and parts of Middle East, even though I enjoyed it, I always felt it needed little more spice. Though proud to have roots from Aden, I am a south Indian at heart and comparing falafel to its south Indian counterpart- ‘Masala Vada’ my Falafel recipe has a little kick of spice with the addition of jalapeno and cayenne, making it perfect and delicious.
(Masala Vada’s are a spicy deep fried variation made surprisingly with split chickpeas/chanadal, Indian spices and herbs).
- Cooking time: 20
- Prep time: 30 mins with addition of overnight soaking of chickpeas
- Cuisine: Middle-Eastern
- Recipe: Birjis Adeni Rashed
Ingredients:
- 2 cup dried chickpeas, soaked overnight in a lot of water.
- 1 cup parsley, chopped
- 3/4 cup cilantro, chopped
- ¼ cup fresh dill, chopped
- 1 onion, chopped
- 6-7 garlic cloves
- 1-2 jalapeno peppers, chopped
- 1 tblsp cumin
- 1 tblsp –coriander powder
- 1 tsp- cayenne pepper/red chilli powder
- 1 tsp black pepper powder
- Salt- to taste
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp -Seseme seeds (optional)
- Oil for frying
Method:
Soak the dried chickpeas in water 12- 18 hrs or overnight. Make sure to soak it in a lot of water, since chickpeas more than double or triple in size.
Drain and rinse the chickpeas and add them to your food processor. Add the onion, parsley, cilantro, dil, garlic, jalapeno all roughly chopped for even pulsing. Also add the spices, cumin, coriander, cayenne, black pepper, salt to the food processor and pulse several times till it has a course texture. Make sure to not over blend or make it pasty.
Refrigerate the mixture for 1 hr.
Add baking soda and baking powder to the falafel batter mix and mix thoroughly.
Heat the oil in a frying pan or fryer to 350 degree Fahrenheit.
Scoop the batter into small balls and tap lightly on both sides to a ½ inch patties, keeping it fat in the center and thin in the sides forming falafels. You can stick some sesame seeds on each falafel by dipping the falafel in a plate of sesame seeds, but this is an optional variation.
Cook few falafels at a time till they are crisp and golden. Scoop out with a slated spoon and set aside on a paper towel lined sieve to drain out excessive oil.
Serve the falafel with tahini sauce as appetizers; or make a tabbouleh, couscous or Greek salad and serve with it; or serve with cucumber, red onion and tomatoes and Tajiki sauce in pita wraps.
Notes:
Falafels can also be pan-fried with limited oil or baked, or even air-fried for healthier options.
