Wondering how to make falafel at home from scratch ingredients? Classic, crunchy, deep bronze, and more crispy balls on the outside. With perfect vivid green, moist, healthy, and fluffy on the inside would make your day special. A simple variation of chickpeas, some herbs, spices, that get blended and fried later means a full pack of nutrients in one go for a healthy lifestyle.
What Falafel Actually Is?
Falafel is actually the most popular Mediterranean cuisine in Middle Eastern Countries as “Fast Food” which is made from a quite variable mixture of soaked chickpeas, some fresh herbs, veggies, and spices. This crispy and crunchy mixture transforms into a small balls or patty shape after getting ready. Many people think falafel originated in the Egyptian era as a Coptic Christian feast as a heart replacement of meat during their most tiring and long seasons of fasting and lent. Falafel needs some tricks to make its mixture perfect which lets you explore its original flavor with spices. It’s now become a popular street vegan food in Egypt and throughout the Middle East.
Its highly contaminated with fibers, calcium, and iron which boost your immune system and let you forget the taste of meat. Classic falafel recipe also goes well for serving uninvited guests at home, for kids lunch box, Family gathering or simply to spend some time with loved ones.
This vegan dish is made with quite simple, healthy, and everyday scratch ingredients with some steps which you would not believe how easy are them. Just get all ingredients ready to cook and have some patience.
The ultimate variety of hearty and healthy food in one go can be this classic falafel; you never get bored of it.
Make ahead & freezing Falafel
To make ahead: Just save time by preparing falafel mixture and keep it in a refrigerator for 1-2 days ahead of time before frying. Make sure to take out at least 5 hours before starting making small balls like a falafel to frying and serve.
To freeze: Make a falafel mixture by blending all ingredients, now make small falafel balls and store them in an air tight container Or place uncooked falafel balls on a baking sheet line with parchment paper and freeze for 1 hour. Once get hardened the mixture, transfer the balls into a freezer bag and freeze for up to 1 month.
Different Variation For Serving Falafel With:
On a simple brunch board: Serve your falafel with an array of fresh veggies, cheese, some sauce and dips according to your desire.
Serve with pita bread / flatbread: just take some pita bread or flat bread to enjoy each bite of these falafel balls with tahini sauce.
Middle Eastern Style: In Middle Eastern countries falafel are generally serve hot with simple tahini sauce at road as a snack.
Serve as a sandwich: Simply take some warm pita pockets, load them with falafel, drizzle with tahini sauce, add some green arugula, fresh veggies like diced tomatoes, cucumber and pickles to make a mean falafel sandwich.
Serve as a side dish: Want to serve falafel as side along with some Turkish-inspired fried eggplant, Tabouli salad or Balela Salad to enjoy its flavor pack bites.
Avoid Frying & Baked Falafel in one go:
Preheat your over at 350° degree and lightly grease a baking try with some oil. Place a parchment sheet or baking sheet over the tray. Place all falafel balls or patties on it and give a quick and nice brush of extra oil for baking. Now place the tray into the oven and let it bake for about 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown layer appear. Turning each falafel over halfway through baking to get perfect result.
Classic Falafel With Tahini Sauce
Ingredients
For Falafel
- 3 cups Dried Chick Peas / Guacamole (soaked overnight, don’t use any canned chick peas)
- 1 cup Fresh Parsley Leaves (roughly chopped)
- 1 cup Coriander /Cilantro Leaves (rough chopped)
- 6 Shallots /Scallions (only white & green part finely chopped)
- 1 Onion (small size)
- 2 Garlic Cloves
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- ½ Green Bell Pepper (small size) ½
- 1 tbsp Black Pepper Powder
- 1 tsp Cumin Powder
- ½ tsp Coriander Powder
- Salt (as required)
- ½ tsp Baking Powder
- 4 tbsp All-Purpose Flour
- Water (as required)
For Frying
- 2 ½ cup Vegetable Oil 2 ½ cup
Tahini Sauce
- 4 tbsp Tahini
- Salt (as required)
- Water (as required)
- 2 tbsp Lemon Juice
Serving
- Pita bread /flatbread
- Tabbouleh
- Shredded Lettuce, Tomato Slices, Salad Leaves, Sliced Red Onion, Slices White Onion
- Hummus
Instructions
- Take a large size pan, pour chick peas, baking soda and plenty of cold water in it by at least 2 inches. Leave it for over 12 hours or overnight would be perfect to get better result.
- When chick peas get ready, drain them completely and pet them dry.
- After drain, wash, place chickpeas in the food processor, add remaining falafel ingredients. Run the food processor for at least 40 seconds at a time until all ingredients get combined well just like forming a falafel mixture shape.
- Make sure the mixture looks like smooth guacamole from the outside to get better result.
- Now transfer the whole mixture into any air tight container, cover tightly and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight until ready to cook.
- Now take out the mixture from the refrigerator and add some sesame seeds (optional). Scoop up the headed mixture tablespoon and shape it into small balls.
- Make as much balls possible with the remaining mixture as possible, around 16-20balls can easily be made with this mixture.
- Place all the balls in already grease tray.
- Refrigerate again them for 1 hour or until ready to fry.
- Take a medium-size frying pan, add vegetable oil 3 inches up. Heat the oil on a medium-high flame until it starts to bubble softly. Carefully drop the falafel into the heated oil.
- Gradually fry each falafel for about 3 to 4 minutes or until an ideal crispy and medium brown color start appearing on the outside.
- Do not add more falafel into the heating pan, or else they get break and would not be able to serve.
- Use any paper towel to drain the remaining oil from falafel after taking out from heat.
- Repeat the same process with remaining falafels
- Serve hot falafel with optional varieties like tomato slices, onion, tabbouleh, and other sauce of choice.
Tahini Sauce Making
- Combine tahini and lemon juice in a small bowl and mix well. The mix would get stiffened.
- Stir in the water 1 tbsp at a time and it will start to loosen again. Make tahini sauce as thick drizzle as possible. The final consistency should not get avoided.
- Serve and season with some salt to taste.
Notes
This classic falafel recipe need more tricks then perfection to make it crispy and delicious that you can’t just missed them:
- Avoid Canned Chickpeas: make sure to use dry chickpeas and not any canned chickpeas. Dry chickpeas should be soaked at least 12 hours prior then its making would only give you the best texture, flavour and desire. As dry chickpeas are naturally enriched with starchy texture that help your falafel stay well formed after making mixtures and balls. Canned chickpeas will disintegrate into the frying oil due to remain some water in it.
- Don’t forget to keep the mixture chill: after blending all ingredients into food processor, and forming mixture make sure to keep it in a refrigerate for about 1 to 2 hours. Chilling mixture will help you to make balls easily. You can also make a mixture a night before its cooking also.
- Baking Powder is the key ingredients: After making mixture, make sure to add baking powder in it before making balls or patties. Baking powder work as a rising agent to let your falafel fluffy and soft inside.
- Oil should be pre heated before transferee balls into it: perfect falafel only made by deep frying to get crispy and crunchy outside layer. Make sure the cooking oil should be hot and gently bubbling, but not too much hot that let the falafel disintegrate.
- Make mixture in advance: just make a mixture of chickpeas with some herbs and spices a head before its making to avoid extra tiredness and save time to serve guest.
- Popular Falafel Sauce: falafel with tahini sauce is the only traditional variation that never let your down. Tahini sauce seems perfect to explore falafel great taste and flavor.