Falafel

I must confess that I recently discovered that I’ve been making my falafel wrong. Although the outcome was still delicious, it wasn’t as good as this one

Though it takes a bit of effort to make falafel at home, with a little planning, it’s no big deal. Since you can make extra batches and freeze them for quick lunches or dinners, it’s definitely worthwhile to make this yourself.

I must confess that I recently discovered that I’ve been making my falafel wrong. Although the outcome was still delicious, it wasn’t as good as this one. Learn from my mistake and always read the WHOLE recipe before you start, and READ EVERY STEP CAREFULLY. That way, you’ll save time and make fewer mistakes.

Makes about 20 patties

Ingredients

• 2 cups uncooked chickpeas, soaked in water overnight
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1/2 red onion, roughly chopped
• 1/8 tsp ground coriander
• 1 handful of fresh coriander leaves and stems
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 heaping tsp ground cumin
• Pinch of cardamom powder
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Sunflower oil for frying

Just before cooking:

• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tbsp water

Recipe Preparation

Drained soaked chickpeas with a colander. If your food processor is small, you will need to process the ingredients in batches to get the best results.
 
Mix all ingredients except chickpeas in a food processor. Using pulse intervals, process ingredients until they are well combined and coarsely chopped. Remove ingredients from processor and put chickpeas in. Process with pulse intervals until coarsely ground, with the appearance of risotto rice. Return everything to processor and use a spoon to roughly mix the ingredients together. Process everything again until it has the consistency of couscous. Remove mixture into a medium bowl, cover with cling film, and leave in the fridge for a day (I left it there for two days and it was perfectly fine).
 
When you are ready to fry the falafel, remove it from the fridge. Using a small bowl, mix baking powder and water together and combine mixture with falafel, then form falafel dough into small patties.
 
Heat about 1 cm of oil into a small pan (I used a small nonstick wok so that I could reduce the amount of oil that I used. I did not need to refill the oil during the whole cooking process.) On medium-high heat, it should take approximately 5 minutes for the temperature to reach frying level (about 180-190 degrees). Drop a small chunk of the falafel mixture into the oil. If it starts sizzling instantly, the oil is ready.
 
When the oil is at the right temperature, cook patties for 2 minutes per side, until brown but not blackened. If you are unsure of the temperature, use a thermometer to check. After you have made a few batches, you will learn how to get the best results with your particular stove and pan. 
 
Meanwhile, line a wooden chopping board with kitchen paper and prepare a cooling rack above it for the cooked falafel patties. Cook patties in batches, cool on the rack, and serve with tzatziki (go to Tzatziki recipe HERE), salad, and pita bread (go to Pita bread recipe HERE).