Ingredients (use vegan versions):
- 1 cup dried chickpeas (garbanzos) soaked in 5 cups of water for 25 hours
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup finely minced onion
- 2 tablespoon finely minced parsley
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 2 cloves garlic
- Freshly ground pepper
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- a pinch (or more) of cayenne pepper
- oil for frying (i.e. canola, sunflower, avocado)
Directions:
This recipe was originally posted on
Vegweb's forums by the user "MrFalafel"
whilst vegweb had forums. It's possibly
some of the best falafel ever.
Drain the chickpeas and put them into
the container of a good processor or
blender. Add the baking soda and
salt. Turn the machine on and blend
until you have the texture of coarse
bread crumbs or fine bulgur wheat. You
should NOT have a paste.
Empty the chickpeas into a bowl. Add
the onion, parsley, cumin, coriander,
garlic, black pepper, lemon juice, and
cayenne. Mix gently with a fork. Do not
pat down. This mixture should be loose
and crumbly.
Put 2 inches of oil in a wok or other
utensil for deep frying and set to a
heat on a medium-low flame. You need a
temperature of 350 to 375 degrees F.
While the oil heats, form the first
batch of patties. Using a very light
touch, form patties that are about 2
1/4 inches in diameter, about 3/4 inch
thick in the center and less so at the
edges. Do not pat down or try to be
too neat. The patties should just
about hold together. Put as many
patties into the hot oil as the utensil
will hold in a single layer. Fry about
4 minutes or until the patties a
reddish brown on both sides. Turn at
least once during the frying process.
When the patties are done, remove them
with a slotted spoon and drain on a
paper towel. do all of the patties this
way.
That's pretty much it. Here's some tips:
1.) Use the right oil: Olive oil is not
good for frying, due to its low smoke
point. Choose an oil with a higher
smoke point, such as Canola, sunflower
or avocado oil.
2.) Use fresh herbs & spices where
possible. The fresher they are, the
better they taste
3.) If you substitute dried chickpeas
with canned, don't add salt, since
canned chickpeas contain salt anyway.
4.) Falafel is best served in a pita
with salad.
Serves: depends how hungry you are
Preparation time: 40 mins (plus soaking time for chickpeas)
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