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Falafel Lebnani
Serves 4 Prep 25 min Cook 12 min Total 37 min Type Snack Origin Lebanese

Falafel Lebnani

Lebanon's street-corner fritter: a herb-flecked chickpea ball fried golden and tucked into warm pita with tahini and pickled turnip.

Serves 4 Prep 25 minutes (plus overnight bean soak) Cook 12 minutes Units Rate

Overview

Dried chickpeas soak overnight (never cooked, chickpeas must remain raw). Drained, blitzed with onion, garlic, a heaped pile of fresh parsley and coriander, ground cumin, ground coriander, salt, black pepper and Aleppo pepper into a coarse green paste. Rested for 30 minutes. Baking soda mixed in just before frying. Shaped into small (3 cm) patties or balls, a falafel scoop (zalabia) gives the cleanest shape but two spoons work. Optionally rolled in sesame seeds. Deep-fried in oil at 175°C for 2-3 minutes per side until amber-gold and crisp. Stuffed into pita with tahini, salad and pickles.

Ingredients

Beans

  • 250 g dried chickpeas (OR 200 g dried chickpeas + 50 g dried split fava beans for a Lebanese-classic chickpea-fava blend)
  • 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (for the soak)
  • Cold water (for the soak)

Blender

  • 1 onion (medium, rough chunks)
  • 5 garlic cloves
  • 1 large bunch fresh parsley (about 40 g)
  • 1 small bunch fresh coriander (about 20 g)
  • 1 ½ teaspoons salt
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1 teaspoonchilli flakes
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper

Just before frying

  • 1 teaspoon baking soda

Optional coating

  • 4 tablespoons sesame seeds

For frying

  • 1 litre vegetable oil

To serve

  • 4 pita breads (large, warmed)
  • Tahini sauce (4 tablespoons tahini + 4 tablespoons water + juice of 1 lemon + 2 crushed garlic + ½ teaspoon salt; whisked smooth)
  • Sliced tomato, cucumber, red onion, romaine lettuce
  • Pickled turnips (Lebanese pink turnips - sold at Middle Eastern shops)
  • A sprinkle of sumac
  • Hot sauce (optional)

Method

Stage 1 - Soak

  1. Place dried chickpeas (and fava if using) in a deep bowl with bicarbonate of soda and 1 ½ litres cold water.
  2. Soak 12-18 hours; the chickpeas should be soft enough to crush with a fingernail but not cooked.
  3. Drain; rinse.

Stage 2 - Blitz

  1. In a food processor, combine drained chickpeas, onion chunks, garlic, parsley, coriander, salt, cumin, ground coriander, Aleppo pepper and pepper.
  2. Pulse repeatedly to a coarse green paste - fine grainy texture, not smooth puree. Don't process to hummus consistency.
  3. Tip into a bowl; cover; rest 30 minutes (lets the flavours integrate).

Stage 3 - Tahini sauce

  1. Whisk tahini, water, lemon juice, garlic and salt in a small bowl to a thick pourable consistency.

Stage 4 - Shape and (optional) coat

  1. Just before frying, stir baking soda into the chickpea mixture thoroughly.
  2. Take 1 tablespoon of mixture; shape into a small disc 3 cm across, 1 ½ cm thick (a falafel scoop / zalabia gives the cleanest shape).
  3. Optional: press one side firmly into sesame seeds.

Stage 5 - Fry

  1. Heat oil to 175°C.
  2. Fry 6-8 falafel at a time, 2-3 minutes per side, until deep amber-gold.
  3. Lift onto kitchen paper.

Stage 6 - Stuff

  1. Cut pita in half; warm briefly.
  2. Spread the inside with tahini sauce.
  3. Pile 4-5 falafel per pocket.
  4. Add tomato, cucumber, onion, lettuce, pickled turnip.
  5. Drizzle with more tahini; scatter sumac.
  6. Optional: hot sauce.

Notes

  • Soaked chickpeas, never cooked: Cooked chickpeas make mushy falafel that falls apart. Raw soaked chickpeas - soft enough to crush, not soft enough to mash - give the crisp-outside, soft-green-inside texture.
  • Lots of herbs: Lebanese falafel is GREEN inside. A big bunch of parsley + smaller bunch of coriander is the right ratio. If your falafel comes out beige, you needed more herbs.
  • Baking soda last: Activates with moisture; if added at the blitz stage, the falafel will be flat. Add right before frying.

Storage

  • Best within 30 minutes of frying.
  • Cooked falafel: refrigerate 2 days; re-crisp at 200°C oven 4 minutes.
  • The raw mixture (without baking soda) refrigerates 24 hours OR freezes 2 months; defrost, add soda, shape, fry.

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