Homemade Falafel Recipe | How to make falafel at home?
Homemade Falafel Recipe | How to make falafel at home? Best Authentic Falafel, made with chickpeas, fresh herb, and the right spices!
Equipment
- 1 Paper Towels https://amzn.to/49yTCte
- 1 Skimmer Slotted Spoon https://amzn.to/4o2TzMk
- 1 Super Smooth Cast Iron Kadai https://amzn.to/3PW9VJR
- 1 Mixer Grinder https://amzn.to/3RUM5yP
- 1 Mixing Bowl Mixing Bowl
Ingredients
- 1 Cup 200 grams dried white chickpeas
- ¼ Cup Onions – chopped or 1 small onion
- 1 Tsp Garlic – chopped
- 3 Tbsp Coriander or Cilantro – chopped coriander leaves or 3 tablespoons chopped parsley or 2 tablespoon chopped mint leaves
- ½ Tsp Cayenne pepper, or Red chili powder, or sweet paprika
- 1 Tsp Ground coriander coriander powder
- 1 Tsp Ground cumin cumin powder
- ¼ Tsp Black peppercorns or ½ tsp crushed black pepper or pepper powder
- 1 Tbsp All-purpose flour or add as required
- ½ Tsp Lemon juice or add according to taste
- Salt as required
- Oil – for deep frying as required
Instructions
Instructions
Soaking chickpeas
- Rinse 1 cup chickpeas for a couple of times in water. Then soak the chickpeas in enough water overnight or for 8 to 9 hours.
- Drain all of the water. Rinse the soaked chickpeas in running water. Drain water very well again.
Blending or Processing
- Then add the soaked and drained chickpeas in a grinder jar or a food processor or in a blender.
- Add the spices, seasonings and herbs – chopped onions & garlic, chopped cilantro or parsley, cayenne pepper (red chili powder), ground coriander, ground cumin, black pepper and all-purpose flour.
- Add lemon juice and salt as per taste.
- Process or blend the mixture in small intervals of time. Scrape the sides of the mixture and add it back into the jar. Avoid adding water while grinding or processing the ingredients. You should get a semi coarse mixture.
- Take the mixture in a bowl. Check the taste and add more salt or spices if required. With a spoon or your hands, mix everything well.
Checking oil temperature before frying
- Heat oil for deep frying in a pan or wok. Roll a small ball & place it in the oil.
- If it does not break, then you are good to go with the frying. If it breaks, then add ½ to 1 tablespoon more of the all-purpose flour.
- The oil temperature is also crucial, as if the oil is not hot enough, the falafel can break.
- When you place the falafel in the oil, it should come up gradually to the top. If it does not come to the top or sticks to the pan, the oil is not hot enough. If it comes too quickly and starts browning fast, the oil is very hot.
Frying the falafel
- Make medium sized balls from the ground mixture and place them in medium hot oil. Add the number of balls depending on the size and capacity of the wok or pan. Do not crowd the pan.
- When the base gets light golden and firms up then gently turn over with a slotted spoon. Fry the other side.
- Fry till they become crisp and are golden turning over as needed for a couple of times.
- Drain them on kitchen paper towels to remove excess oil. Keep frying.
- Serve falafel as a side snack with a tahini dip or hummus. It also tastes good with cilantro chutney and even tomato sauce. You can also stuff them in pita breads.
Notes
- To make a gluten-free version, use rice flour or gram flour instead of all-purpose flour.
- Use dried chickpeas to get the crispy texture. Using canned chickpeas will give a completely different taste and texture. You will also require to add some more all-purpose flour to bind the mixture well.
- Fry falafel in medium-hot oil. Before frying always check a small ball made from the mixture. It should not break or get too browned on the outside. If the oil is not hot, it may absorb more oil and can also break in the oil. If the oil is too hot, it can get browned from outside too quickly, leaving the insides raw. So when frying fry at a medium to medium-high flame.
- The consistency of the ground mixture is semi-coarse or semi-fine. Do not make it too coarse as the falafel balls cannot be shaped easily. But you can process or grind to a fine consistency. The resulting texture in the fried falafel will be smooth on the inside but will taste good.
- You can easily store ground mixture in the fridge for a day or in the freezer. Before frying, let the ground mixture come to room temperature.
- The nutrition info is for one serving of classic traditional falafel.