Falafel
Updated April 17, 2024
- Total Time
- 1 hour, plus soaking
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 1¾cups dried chickpeas or 1 cup dried chickpeas plus ¾ cup dried split fava beans
- 2garlic cloves, lightly crushed
- ½onion, quartered
- 1teaspoon ground coriander
- 1tablespoon ground cumin
- 1teaspoon ground cayenne, or to taste; or mild chile powder to taste
- ½cup chopped fresh parsley or cilantro leaves
- 1teaspoon salt
- ½teaspoon black pepper, or to taste
- ½teaspoon baking soda
- 1tablespoon lemon juice, or more to taste
- Neutral oil, such as grapeseed or canola, for deep-frying
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
243 calories; 5 grams fat; 0 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 2 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 39 grams carbohydrates; 8 grams dietary fiber; 7 grams sugars; 12 grams protein; 179 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Put beans in a large bowl and cover with water by 3 to 4 inches; they will triple in volume as they soak. Soak for 24 hours, checking once or twice to see if you need to add water to keep the beans covered.
- Step 2
Drain beans well and transfer to a food processor with all the remaining ingredients except the oil; pulse until minced but not puréed; add water tablespoon by tablespoon if necessary to allow the machine to do its work, but keep the mixture as dry as possible. (Too much water and your falafel will fall apart. If that happens, add more ground beans.) Taste and adjust seasoning, adding more salt, pepper, cayenne or a little more lemon juice as needed.
- Step 3
Put at least 2 to 3 inches of oil (more is better) in a large, deep saucepan (the narrower the pan, the less oil you need; but the more oil you use, the more you can cook at one time). Turn heat to medium high and heat oil to about 350 (a pinch of batter will sizzle immediately; a piece of falafel will sink halfway to the bottom, then rise).
- Step 4
Scoop out heaping tablespoons of the mixture and shape it into balls or small patties.
- Step 5
Fry in batches, without crowding, until nicely browned, turning as necessary; total cooking time per batch will be less than 5 minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature.
Private Notes
Comments
There's a recipe I once saw on the internet that has a key tip for falafel, in my experience. The soaked beans should be processed alone to a bread crumb texture. Then the other stuff (cilantro, parsley, onion, garlic, spices, etc.) should be processed separately into a slurry. The two should then be mixed together. This prevents the overall mixture from becoming too wet and keeps a more bread-like texture to the falafel.
Great basic formula, but the mix bakes just as well as it fries (or better, if you don't like fried food). 20-ish minutes at about 375 until golden brown; not as crisp, but simple and less greasy.
Perfect recipe. Instead of deep frying, I like to make patties instead of balls, and shallow fry them on each side.
Made it using 2X540 ml canned chickpeas. Drained & rinsed the beans then put in (mostly) single layer on a towel for about 1h. Pulse-chopped the beans first, then added 3/4c diced onion, spice mix, soda and 2T grapefruit juice. Pulse-chopped again til the consistency was what I wanted. Used a little more coriander, a little less cumin (preference). Used parsley&cilantro. Brushed w/oil& baked 375F for 35 mins (flip 1/2way) Made about 40 pcs falafel (about 1T per pc.) Served w/quick tzatziki green onion/sour cream for sauces. “Best ever” was feedback from family.
I've made falafel many times using a different recipe, and it always came out well. This recipe, however, was a mess. Although I added no water, it was too wet and the falafels would not hold together. Going back to my usual recipe . . .
horrible loose texture... taste is fair but nothing like traditional falafel,,, look elsewhere.