If you are in the mood for a Middle Eastern snack, learn and dish up a homemade falafel spread with this simple recipe. We promise you won’t make it just once.
Ingredients
- 2-3 Cups Chickpeas
- 2-3 Garlic Cloves
- Handful Fresh Parsley
- Handful Fresh Coriander
- Pinch Cumin Powder
- Pinch Ground Cayenne Pepper/Black Pepper
- Pinch Coriander Powder
- Salt to Taste
- 1 Medium Sized Onion
- 1/2 Tsp Dry Ginger Powder (optional)
- Oil for Deep Frying
- Food Processor
- 1/4 Tsp Baking Powder
Preparation
Prep: 5 minutes
Cooking: 10 minutes
- Pre-Prep (steps 1 and 2)
- Soak chickpeas overnight or a minimum of 8 hours. Wash the next day, pat dry and keep aside. Do not cook them.
- Roughly chop the onions, fresh parsley and coriander with stems for extra flavour.
- In a bowl mix the chickpeas and all the ingredients. Check for seasoning as per your taste.
- Now in a food processor, add half the quantity of the above mix and blitz it until the chickpeas are finely ground for (approximately 30-40 seconds). Do not make a fine paste.
- Tip – My way of knowing if the mix is ready for frying is when I take the palm-sized mixture in my hand and press it together and if it holds its shape is when the mixture is ready and does not need further blitzing.
- Tip – I did not use all-purpose flour as I found that my mixture retains its shape without. Feel free to blend the mixture with all-purpose flour or cornflour if your mixture needs binding.
- Blend the chickpeas in a batch of 2. Cover and keep it in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
- Heat oil in a frying pan and when the oil is piping hot, add your palm-sized well-pressed chickpea mix (any shape you like) and fry until evenly dark brown on both sides (try first with one and see if the mixture holds it shapes. If it breaks or falls apart then your mixture consistency/texture is not right).
- Once fried, your falafel is ready. Serve hot with salad, hummus and pita pockets.
