How to Make Falafel

Falafel is a Middle Eastern recipe for balls or patties of ground chickpeas or fava beans. Falafel can be served as an appetizer or stacked in pita bread for a tasty sandwich. Spice up your falafel with a yogurt or a tahini-based sauce. Read the following steps to learn how to make this dish.

Things You'll Need

• 1 cup chickpeas, fava beans or both
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1/3 cup parsley
• 2 tbsp. cilantro
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• 3/4 cup cumin
• 1 pinch crushed red pepper
• 3 tbsp. spring or distilled water
• Olive or canola oil
• 1 large jar tahini

Instructions

1. Soak the chickpeas or beans overnight. Drain and rinse them the next day.

2. Put the chickpeas in a blender. Add the onion, parsley, cilantro, garlic, baking powder, salt, cumin and crushed red pepper. Push the "Pulse" button several times to combine the ingredients into a paste.

3. Add the three tablespoons of water and continue processing until the mixture is smooth but slightly gritty, with a light greenish color. Use a spoon to scoop the falafel paste from the blender into a bowl.

4. Heat olive oil or canola oil, two inches deep, in a medium saucepan until it reaches 350 degrees. Use two spoons to form small, rounded tablespoons of the falafel mixture and place them into the hot oil.

5. Fry the falafel balls until they become crispy and turn a golden brown color. This process will take about two minutes.

6. Remove the falafel balls from the frying pan. Drain excess oil on paper towels. Serve the falafel hot with the tahini sauce. This recipe makes up to two dozen falafel balls.

Tips & Warnings

• You can also shape the falafel mixture into patties like hamburgers before frying, and serve them sandwich style with lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers.

• Instead of frying the falafel balls, try baking them on a cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 15 to 25 minutes.

• If the falafel balls brown too quickly, reduce the heat. Frying in oil that's hotter than 350 degrees will cause the falafel balls to brown on the outside, but remain raw on the inside.

Resources

• Get other falafel recipes at Cooks.com.