Falafel are delicious balls of yumminess made of chickpeas, parsley, cilantro, and flavorful spices.
Falafel is one of my favorite Middle Eastern dishes because it’s rich flavors and simplicity to make.
I like to make this recipe when I want to change things up a bit and have a little international flare for dinner, keeping with the theme of healthy, delicious, and simple. Did I mention it must be simple?
My trusty food processor really helps me cut down on time when making this easy weeknight dinner. Don’t worry if you don’t have one; a cutting board and knife will do just as well.
Falafel is also a great vegan and vegetarian dish; however, it is wonderful regardless of whether you are vegan or vegetarian.
Falafels are great in wraps, pitas, sandwiches, and salads. Today, I’ll share just how easy it is to prepare this great dish. You choose your favorite! What I love about this recipe is that you can make it two ways: fried or baked in the oven, and both ways are super delicious.
I like drizzling homemade tahini sauce over these falafel balls and eating them warm. They are so hard to resist eating just as they come out of the stovetop or oven.
When I am ready to serve them, half of them are already gone. Truth bomb eaten by yours truly.
Another great thing about this recipe is that you can make it in batches and freeze the mixture until you are ready to use it. It holds up well for a few weeks frozen.
I usually make a double batch of the falafel mixture and freeze half of it for later when I really need a quick, healthy dinner on the table.
It’s easy to defrost the mixture, fry it, or bake it, and dinner is done in 15 minutes. You can eat it on top of a salad or make a pita sandwich with it and have it on its own as a main meal.
What is great about this recipe is that you can even eat it on the go when you still want to eat healthy but need to take it with you.
A stuffed falafel pita sandwich is an excellent meal on the go.
Add some lettuce, drizzle some tahini sauce or tzatziki sauce, and you have yourself a super yummy, easy, and healthy meal in your hot hand.
Speaking of hot hands, you can eat this delicious hot or warm falafel. This dish makes for a great meal prep as well. These cooked falafels will last a good week in the fridge and make great leftovers.
As always from my heart to yours happy eating!
PrintEasy Authenitc Falafel
Looking to cook up a little internatinal flare, this easy authentic falafel recipie is just it! This recipie is simple, healthy, delicious and full of flavor. Falafal are yummy goodness made with chickpeas, parstly and a nice mix of herbs. They are a little crunchy on the outside yet warm a soft in the inside.
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried chickpeas soaked overngiht (do not use canned chickpeas)
- 1/2 cup onion roughly chopped
- 1 cup parseley roughly chopped
- 1 cup cilantro roughly chopped
- 1 small jalapeno pepper or serrano
- 3 garlic gloves
- 1 tsp of salt
- 1tsp of cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon pf cardamom
- 2 tbs chickpea flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- avocado oil for fying
Instructions
- The night before, soak the dried chickpeas in water making sure the water covers the chickpeas by about 3 inches. The chickpeas will grow in size.
- When you are ready to make the falafel drain and rinse the chickpease and add them to a food processor, along with all the other ingredients. (except the avocado oil which is for frying)
- Using the pulse setting on your food processor pulse till the mixture is corse.
- Next transfer the mixture to a bowl and add the chickpea flour and baking soda mix well with your hand. Once the mixture is well mixed cover it a lid and place it in the fridge for about 30 min.
- Using a scooper, your hand or a spoon, scoop the falafel and form into balls. Make sure that all the balls are about the same size so that when you cook them they cook evenly. If the mixture is too dry add water and if it is too wet add more chickpea flour. Your want the texture to be a little firm, not sticking to your hands but still moist.
- While you are forming the falafel balls in a pot bring the avocado oil to about 350F. You want to have about 3 inches of oil in the pot so that it covers the falafel when you put them in.
- Once the falafel is formed and the oil is heated add the falafel to the pot paying attention not to over crowed the pot. Cook in batches works best. Cook the falafel for about 1-2 min or untill you get a nice golden brown color. Your want to keep an eye on the falafel as it is cooking because they can easily over cook.
- Once they are cooked tranfer them to a plate or serface that is covered with a paper towel to catch the excess oil drippings.
Notes
If your falafel is breaking apart while cooking add more chickpea flour to the mixture (remember you are cooking in batches. The first round is sometimes the test round.)
You may want to cook one falafel by itself first to make sure it doesn’t fall apart and need more chickpea flour.
Make sure your oil doens’t get too hot. This will lead to burnt on the outside and undrcooked in the inside falafel.
1 cup of dried chickpeas = 3 cups of soaked chickpeas.
Keywords: falafel
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