Falafel
The Levantine chickpea fritter: soaked dried chickpeas blitzed with parsley, coriander and spices, deep-fried till crusted dark, vivid green within.
Overview
Dried chickpeas soak overnight, do not cook them. Blitz with onion, garlic, herbs and spices to a coarse green paste. Rest for 1 hour. A pinch of baking powder mixes in just before frying. Shape into balls; deep-fry at 175°C 4 minutes until darkly crusted. Stuffed into pita with hummus, tahina, salata, pickles.
Ingredients
- 400 g dried chickpeas (soaked 12 hours, drained - DO NOT use tinned or cooked chickpeas)
- 1 onion (medium, chopped)
- 6 garlic cloves
- 1 large bunch fresh parsley (50 g, stems and leaves)
- 1 large bunch fresh coriander (50 g)
- 2 tablespoons ground coriander seed
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 green chilli (small, optional)
Add just before frying
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds (optional, for coating)
To fry
- 1 ½ litres vegetable oil
To serve
- Warm pita
- Hummus
- Tahina sauce
- Salata Baladi
- Pickled cucumbers, pickled turnips
- Zhug (or sahawiq)
Method
Stage 1 - Blitz
- Place drained raw chickpeas, onion, garlic, parsley, coriander, ground coriander, cumin, pepper, salt and chilli in a food processor.
- Blitz to a coarse green paste - should hold a shape when squeezed but still grainy and recognisable.
Stage 2 - Rest
- Tip into a bowl; cover; refrigerate 1 hour. The mixture firms up and the flavours combine.
Stage 3 - Baking powder
- Just before frying, sprinkle the baking powder over; mix briefly.
Stage 4 - Shape
- Take walnut-sized portions (about 30 g each); roll into balls or shape into small flat patties.
- Optionally roll in sesame seeds.
Stage 5 - Fry
- Heat oil to 175°C in a deep heavy pan.
- Fry in batches of 6-8, 3-4 minutes total, turning, until deep dark gold and crisp.
- Drain on a rack.
Stage 6 - Serve
- Eat hot - stuff into pita with hummus, tahina sauce, salata, pickles, and a drizzle of zhug.
Notes
- Raw soaked chickpeas only: Cooked chickpeas give dense, mushy falafel that falls apart in the fryer. The raw-soaked technique is non-negotiable.
- Baking powder at the end: Activates with the heat. Adding too early flattens the falafel.
- Don't over-blitz: Coarse green paste is right. Pureé-smooth gives doughy falafel.
Storage
- Best fresh.
- Refrigerate cooked 2 days; re-crisp at 200°C 5 minutes.
- Freeze cooked 2 months. Reheat from frozen at 200°C 10 minutes.
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