Traditionally, Falafel is made with soaked chickpeas which is processed in a food processor with lots of parsley, garlic and some spices, formed into round balls and deep fried into crispy yummy fritters. They are basically chickpeas fritters and it is served with Tahini Sauce and Tzatziki. My favorite way of eating falafel is to put it in a warm pita pocket bread with some salad and lots of dressing. Oh, I am making myself hungry :). It is a good source of protein for vegetarians. For healthier version you can also bake it in oven. I like to shallow fry instead of deep frying.
This recipe is not the traditional way of making falafel as I have used canned chickpeas but it works for me especially when I have not soaked the chickpeas in advance. To be real, there are days when you feel like having something which needs soaking or fermenting and for such days you need a cheat recipe. This is one delicious cheat recipe and trust me I most of the time end up making it this way. Obviously it will be little dense then the traditional falafel but I don’t see any difference in the taste and works absolutely perfect.
Tips:
- Always use a food processor to make falafel, as the mixture has to be coarse and not fine. If it is fine you end up with a giant mess while frying.
- Do not let the mixture sit for long time because salt and onion in the mixture will release water making mixture more wet. And you will have to add more plain flour which makes it taste floury and not so yummy.
- While frying, oil has to be on med-high heat or else there are chances of either oily falafels or it will burst in the oil. Do not over crowd the frying pan with more falafels. Fry 3-4 falafels at a time to make sure it comes out crispy from outside and soft from inside.
Quick Falafel Recipe Using Canned Chickpeas
Ingredients
- 2 cans or 2 cups soaked chickpeas
- 1 cup parsley
- 1 cup corainder leaves
- 1 small onion
- 4-6 cloves of garlic
- 1 tbsp of corainder powder
- 1 tbsp of red chilli powder
- 2 tbsp of plain flour
- salt and pepper
- oil for frying
Instructions
- Drain all the liquid from canned chickpeas and let it sit for half and hour just to make sure it is dry. This is important step not to be skipped. If you do not have time just dry it on a kitchen towel.
- In a food processor, process herbs and onion. Add chickpeas to it and give it couple of pulse till it forms into coarse mixture. Remember not to process it long but to just pulse it.
- Take out the mixture into a bowl. Add all the spices, plain flour and salt. Mix it thoroughly using a spoon.
- Meanwhile heat up some oil in a pan. Form golf ball size falafels and lightly press it. On a medium-high heat fry all the falafels till it turns nice brown in color. They should not stay more in oil as the chickpeas are already cooked here and all we are looking for is a crispy texture outside.
- Serve it hot with some cool Tzatziki and Tahini sauce
