Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Falafel - The Middle Eastern Fritter



Falafel – a deep fried, Middle Eastern fritter, made of chickpeas and some herbs and spices. Crispy outside, softer inside, full of flavors and deep fried! Whats not to like it, taste wise? Yes, you must sometimes forget about the amount of oil needed for deep frying if you want to enjoy some of the great foods. It is OK occasionally!


I was almost dreaming of these Falafels, till I finally decided to make them. So planned it along with the Hummus, so that the chickpeas can be cooked together. And the hummus does make a good dip for the falafel as well. Though these can be had by themselves as well.


Well, it is almost like our pakoras, vadas and bondas – all these look like cousins to me. With some variations in main ingredients, and the method of preparation. Of course each region uses the herbs, spices and other ingredients easily available in that region and that makes the difference.


So here's the recipe. BTW, the fat-stingy me tried to bake these as well, and also shallow fried a batch. But honestly, I was not very happy with the results. So I'd suggest you to make it occasionally, but please do deep fry them. Indulging occasionally is alright!

Falafel

Preparation time: 20 min
Cooking time: ~30 min + 20 min
Serves: 4

Ingredients:
Dried chickpeas or garbanzo beans - 1 cup
Onion - 1 large, chopped
Garlic - 2 cloves, chopped
Fresh parsley - 3 Tbsp, chopped
Coriander - 2 Tbsp, chopped
Cumin - 1 tsp
Chickpea flour / Besan - 2 Tbsp
Salt to taste
Green chilies - 2-3, optional - only if you need an extra heat
Pepper to taste
Oil for deep frying

Method:
  • Soak dried chickpeas in cold water overnight. Omit this step if using canned beans. 
  • Drain chickpeas, and cook in fresh water in a pressure cooker till cooked soft
  • Drain and allow to cool for 15 minutes 
  • Combine cooked chickpeas, garlic, onion, coriander, cumin, salt and pepper (to taste) in medium bowl.
  • Mash chickpeas, ensuring to mix ingredients together. You can also combine ingredients in a food processor. You want the result to be a thick paste. 
  • Add flour to make the consistency that of a thick dough
  • Form the mixture into small balls, about the size of ping pong ball and slightly flatten.
  • Deep fry in oil until golden brown on medium heat.
  • Serve hot with hummus or tahini as appetizer
  • As a main course, stuff pita bread with falafel, lettuce, tomatoes, tahini, salt and pepper, and serve
Notes:
  • Do not add water when mashing or grinding
  • If the dough seems very loose increase the quantity of besan

4 comments:

  1. Wow this is yum. I love it. By the way your green living tip is awesome. I do not have a doublesided printer but I recycle my paper. Thanks for ur comment at my place. You are sweet.
    I am hosting Kids Delight from 16th Nov to 15th Dec’2012 . Do send me your entries

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  2. I too posted a deep fried fritter :-) love these for evening snacks

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  3. Its been a while,i havent prepared falafel,thanks for reminding me.

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  4. Extremely Eye catching blog. I love to have you on my Dash Board

    ReplyDelete

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