In my hometown there was a Greek restaurant that I grew up going to. I absolutely loved their food, especially their falafels. They were different from falafels I would get anywhere else. They were light, not overly spiced, not greasy, covered in sesame seeds and a beautiful shade of green on the inside. After the restaurant closed when the owners decided to retire I spent years searching for falafels that could replace them. Luckily I found this falafel recipe from Lisa Bryan on Downshiftology and adjusted it to make my falafel dreams come true!
The BEST Falafel
Ingredients
- 1 Cup dried chickpeas soaked overnight do not use canned chickpeas
- ½ Cup yellow onion roughly chopped
- 1 Cup chopped parsley roughly one large bunch
- 1 Cup chopped cilantro roughly one large bunch
- 1 Small jalapeno pepper minced
- 3 Cloves garlic
- 1 Cup sesame seeds
- 1 Teaspoon cumin
- 1 Teaspoon salt
- ½ Teaspoon cardamom
- ¼ Teaspoon pepper
- 2 Tablespoons flour
- ½ Teaspoon baking soda
- Oil for frying
Instructions
- The night before you intend to make the falafel, soak the dried chickpeas in water. Make sure the water more than covers the chickpeas as they'll triple in size.
- The next day, once soaked drain and rinse the chickpeas and place them in a food processor
- Chop or mince the onion, parsley, cilantro, Jalapeno and garlic
- Add the onion, parsley, cilantro, jalapeno, garlic, cumin, salt, cardamom and pepper to the food processor and pulse several times until its well blended and resembles the texture of coarse sand but will stay together
- Transfer the mixture to a bowl and add in the flour and baking soda
- Mix together and cover with a lid or plastic wrap. Refrigerate the mixture for 30 minutes to one hour.
- Using your hands or preferably an ice cream or cookie scoop form into balls. If you find the mixture is too wet, you can add another tablespoon of flour. If it's too dry and crumbly, you can add a teaspoon or two of water.
- Once formed into balls roll in sesame seeds to coat the outside
- Once the falafel are formed, you’re ready to fry
- To deep fry add about 3 inches of oil to a pot on medium heat
- Heat the oil to 350 degrees
- Cook the falafel in batches for 2-3 minutes or until golden
- Use a skimmer to check the color of the falafel and make sure they don't over cook. They will be a golden brown color when done.
- Remove to a paper towel lined plate
- Serve the falafel immediately, while warm and crispy on the outside. We recommend them in a pita with some of our kalamata olive tzatziki.
