Falafel is a staple of middle eastern cuisine. The Arabic word for Falafel is falāfil, a plural of the word filfil, meaning “pepper.”.
Today I will show you my version for making Falafel. This Falafel recipe is great for vegans and vegetarians who cut out meat from their diets because Falafel balls are a great source of protein and low fat also. Add a hearty Tahini sauce you get a whole other experience of deliciousness.
INGREDIENTS (serves 4 persons)
250 – 300g dried chickpeas
1/2 onion
3 garlic cloves – minced
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 – 1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp flour
1 tsp grounded coriander
2 – 3 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp grounded cumin
1 tsp grounded ginger
1 /4 tsp baking soda
15 – 20g parsley
PREPARATION
1. Rinse off your chickpeas and leave them in a bowl of water overnight (about 10 – 12 hours). The water should be about an inch and a half/about 4 cm over the chickpeas.
2. Chop your onions and parsley.
Add the onions, parsley, chickpeas and rest of the ingredients into the food processor.
NOTE: You really need a food processor if you want to make the Falafel mass just right. I personally tried mixing the batter with a little kitchen mincer. It didn’t end well.
3. You should pulse your ingredients in the processor for a couple of minutes until they are uniformly blended. The mass should be like a puree but not too runny.
4. Put the mix in a bowl, cover it with plastic wrap and leave it in the fridge for about 1 – 2 hours.
5. Now comes the easy part. Take the Falafel mass and start shaping it. You can make little balls or shape it like burger patties, whichever you prefer.
TIP: Shape your mass with wet hands if you don’t want the Falafel mass to stick to your hands.
6. Fill the skillet with vegetable oil. I can’t give you the exact amount. The oil should be cover the balls just a bit.
7. Heat the oil on the pan on medium-high heat. After a couple of minutes, you will feel the oil heat up.
8. Put the Falafel balls into the pan and fry on medium high heat until they are golden brown.
9. Enjoy your Falafel balls.
No Falafel recipe would be complete without some Tahini sauce.
Time for PART 2 where I will show you a recipe for a zesty Tahini sauce.
INGREDIENTS
100 – 150 g sesame seeds
1 garlic clove of finely crushed garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp curry (optional)
juice from half a lemon
4 tbsp olive oil
warm water
PREPARATION
1. You can use pre-made tahini, but where’s the fun in that.
Heat the pan on medium heat until it gets warm. Now put the sesame seed and fry them on medium-low heat for about 5 minutes. They should get a light golden brown color.
Don’t overdo it because the seeds get a bitter aftertaste.
2. Take the seeds and put them in a chopper or food processor.
Pulse them for a minute, until you get a paste. Then add 1 tbsp of olive oil. Pulse until the oil has blended. Then add 2 more tbsp and pulse a bit more.
You don’t need a runny mixture, it just needs to be like a paste.
3. Now add the sesame paste, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, and olive oil.
4. Pour the warm water to your liking. More if you want a more runny sauce and less if you want a THICC sauce.
Add the salt and curry and whisk away.
5. The sauce should rest in the fridge for about 30 mins – 1 hour.
6. Now you have a full honest to goodness Falafel with sauce.
I hope that you try this Falafel and Tahini sauce recipe.
Share your thought and suggestion for the next dish.
