Falafel has been on my to-make list for the longest. I don’t like deep frying-being calorie conscious is one reason, but the other important reason is I don’t like to deal with all that used oil. If I ever make a deep fried dish, I make sure that I use the oil only once for deep frying and the leftover oil gets used in everyday dishes 1tsp at a time. I also make sure that I transfer the leftover oil from the frying pan to a smaller container to make sure that the pan doesn't form an oil stain and for easy handling.
Nice little tip I learnt from Martha Stewart for disposing used oil is to use lots of paper towels to soak up the oil before washing. Never ever drain oil directly in the sink; this will adversely affect your drainage system.
Ok since the housekeeping is taken care of; let me move onto the falafel now. The recipe is from Vegetarian Times magazine and I had it bookmarked forever now. Finally got to make it this past weekend when we had friends over for a “Middle-Eastern” themed dinner party.
The recipe uses canned chickpeas and shallow fries the patties, which is probably not authentic, but the end result was just as yummy as the fried ones. I doubled the recipe and was able to make 30 patties, enough for 8-10 servings.
Recipe from Vegetarian Times Magazine.Ingredients (makes 15-16 medium sized patties):
Chickpeas – 1 16oz. can, rinsed and drained
Tahini – 3tbsp
Garlic clove – 1, minced
Egg – 1
Lemon zest – 2tbsp, finely grated
Lemon juice – 1tsp
Ground Coriander – 1 tsp
Ground Cumin – 1½ tsp
Chili powder – ½ tsp
Salt – to taste
All-purpose flour – ¼ cup
Onion – 2tbsp, finely chopped
Parsley – 2tbsp, finely chopped
Baking powder – ½ tsp
Method:
- In a food processor, pulse chickpeas, garlic, tahini, egg, lemon zest & juice, salt and spices until mostly smooth, but still a little chunky.
- Transfer to a bowl and add flour, onions and parsley. Mix well to combine. Make ¼” thick patties with about ¼ cup of chickpea mixture.
- I lined the patties up on a foil covered baking sheet, wrapped them in plastic wrap and refrigerated them the night before I was going to make the falafel. I took them out of the fridge an hour before frying to take the chill off.
- Pour olive oil into a shallow pan to cover about ¼” in the bottom. Add the patties in batches and fry on medium-high flame and fry for about 3 mins per side or until golden brown. Make sure that the patties don’t touch while frying.
- Drain the patties on paper towel lined platter. Repeat with remaining patties.
I served them with Pita bread, quick tahini sauce (½ cup each of tahini & yogurt mixed with ground cumin, salt & pepper, lemon juice), store-bought hot falafel chutney and cucumber & tomato salad. Enjoy!!
These falafel are baked and are healthier than the traditional deep fried version. Adding quinoa makes them more substantial and filling. Along with quinoa and lentils, chickpea flour or besan is added to bind the falafel and also to impart a nutty flavor.