mastering falafel

I've become slightly obsessed with falafel...eating it, reading about it, finding places that serve it, and of course, cooking it. I love whoever invented it!

I said in my last falafel post, that I will master falafel, and I have! The secret is in preparing the chickpeas...just an overnight soaking, and a run through the food processor turns out perfectly textured falafel!

1 lb dried chickpeas
1 medium onion cut into large pieces
2-3 garlic cloves
3 slices bread (stale or slightly toasted & made into breadcrumbs)
4 T parsley
2 t salt
1/2 t black pepper
2 t cumin
2 t oregano
2 t coriander
2 t baking powder
3 1/2 T water
couple dashes cayenne (optional)


Soak the chickpeas for 12-24 hours. Drain and rinse them, then run them through a food processor until they're coarsely chopped. Add the rest of the ingredients and process just until smooth and well blended.

Form the mixture into small balls (I use a cookie scoop to keep them uniform) and flatten them slightly. I kept them in the fridge while I preheated the deep fryer, then fried them at 375 degrees in small batches, until they were golden brown.

I served them as I always do, in wraps with lettuce, tomato and tzatziki. Everything about this was perfect. It's not identical to, but it's just as good as the falafel I get from Tangiers, which is considered to have the best falafel in the area.

I almost gave up and surrendered to boxed falafel mix. I'm so glad I didn't!

Now maybe I can quit my job and sell falafel sandwiches out of one of those little roach coach lunch wagons in office parks, open a chain of falafel restaurants, sell frozen falafel at wholesale clubs, and retire off the profits from my falafel empire!



It's an underserved market ;-)

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