Falafel is one of the classic signature dishes of the middle eastern region. This vegetarian falafel recipe with pita bread and hummus will bring the Mediterranean palate to your home. This is one of the most loved dishes in our household.
This week we celebrated our little ones' third Birthday and it was a weeklong celebration. Celebrations at home on his actual Birthday, celebrations in school and a little get-together with friends.
I like to have a theme when cooking for parties and for this one chose Middle Eastern food. We have a great Middle Eastern restaurant in our neighborhood which we love and we eat there often. So my kids are also used to the flavors.
I made this falafel from the recipe in the book Perfect Vegetarian. This is my post for the blogging marathon # 26 under the theme, cooking from a cookbook.
This book has many simple and quick vegetarian recipes ranging from appetizers to desserts. The falafel recipe was really good and straightforward to make.
Falafel tastes the best when made from fresh chickpeas. I made it from canned chickpeas as it says in the book, and it turned out pretty well.
Ingredients to make Falafel –
- Canned chickpeas - 2 can (15 oz)*see notes if making from fresh chickpeas
- Onion – 1 small (chopped)
- Garlic cloves – 2
- Hot Chili – 1 (optional)
- Baking powder – 1 tsp
- Fresh parsley – ¼ cup
- Fresh cilantro – ½ cup
- Cayenne pepper – ¼ tsp
- Cumin powder – 1 tsp
- All purpose flour – 2 tsp
- Bread crumbs – 3 tbsp
- Salt and pepper – to taste
- Oil – for deep frying
To serve –
- Pita Bread
- Hummus
*Notes –
- If using fresh chickpeas – soak 1 cup of chickpeas in fresh water for at least 12 hrs. Drain all the water and use it to make the falafels.
- I do not have step-by-step pictures of the whole process. I will update it when I make them again.
Procedure to make Falafel –
- Drain the chickpeas from the can and wash it several times under running cold water. Then drain them and dry them for a few minutes and add them to the food processor.
- Add the onion, garlic, chili, cilantro, parsley, APF, bread crumbs, cayenne, and cumin powder. Process them until it becomes a coarse paste. Then season it with salt and pepper and process it once more.
- Now remove it from the food processor and transfer it to a bowl. Refrigerate the ground mixture for at least ½ hr. I realized from experience that it is essential for the mixture to be chilled; otherwise, they disintegrate in the hot oil when frying.
- Heat oil in a deep pan over high heat when the mixture is refrigerating.
- Remove the mixture from the refrigerator and add the baking powder to it. Mix it well.
- Form small patties from the mixture and drop them into the hot oil. Drop up to 3 or 4 into hot oil at one time. Without disturbing, let it fry until golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel.
- Once the excess oil is drained remove it on a cooling rack so that it retains its crispness. If left in the paper towel too long, they become soft, so remove them after a minute or two.
- Repeat the same for the rest of the mixture.
To serve –
- The Falafel can be served as an appetizer as is with some yogurt sauce.
- I served the vegetarian falafel inside pita bread with hummus.
Notes and observations –
- Fresh chickpeas work well than canned ones.
- The ground mixture has to be refrigerated before frying, otherwise, they disintegrate when frying.
- If you find them disintegrating, refrigerate the mixture for a few more minutes or add more bread crumbs for binding.
- Make sure to transfer it to a cooling rack to retain its crispness. Leaving it too long on a paper towel-lined plate would make them soft.
Other Middle Eastern dishes
If you made this recipe and liked it, give a star rating on the recipe card or let me know in the comments below. You could also share it with me on Instagram using #MyCookingJourney and tagging me @sandhya.ramakrishnan. You could follow me and my recipes on Facebook |Instagram | Pinterest | Twitter
Recipe
Homemade Vegetarian Falafel Recipe
Equipment
- Wire rack
- food processor
Ingredients
- 2 can Canned chickpeas 15 oz*see notes if making from fresh chickpeas
- 1 small Onion chopped
- 2 Garlic cloves
- 1 Hot Chili optional
- 1 teaspoon Baking powder
- ¼ cup Fresh parsley
- ½ cup Fresh cilantro
- ¼ teaspoon Cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon Cumin powder
- 2 teaspoon All purpose flour
- 3 tablespoon Bread crumbs
- to taste Salt and pepper
- for deep frying Oil
To serve –
- Pita Bread
- Hummus
Instructions
- Drain the chickpeas from the can and wash it several times under running cold water. Then drain it and dry them for few minutes and add it to the food processor.
- Along with it, add the onion, garlic, chili, cilantro, parsley, APF, bread crumbs, cayenne and cumin powder. Process them until it becomes a coarse paste. Then season it with salt and pepper and process it once more.
- Now remove it from the food processor and transfer it to a bowl. Refrigerate the ground mixture for at least ½ hr. I realized from experience that it very important for the mixture to be chilled; otherwise they disintegrate in the hot oil when frying.
- When the mixture is refrigerating, heat oil in a deep pan over high heat.
- Remove the mixture from the refrigerator and add the baking powder to it. Mix it well.
- Form small patties from the mixture and drop it into hot oil. Drop up to 3 or 4 into hot oil at one time. Without disturbing, let it fry until golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel.
- Once the excess oil is drained remove it on a cooling rack so that it retains its crispness. If left in the paper towel too long, they become soft, so remove them after a minute or two.
- Repeat the same for the rest of the mixture.
To serve –
- The Falafel can be serves as an appetizer as is with some yogurt sauce.
- I served them inside pita bread with hummus.
Notes
- If using fresh chick peas – soak 1 cup of chickpeas in fresh water for at least 12 hrs. Drain all the water and use it to make the falafels.
- I do not have step by step pictures of the whole process. I will update it when I make them again.
- Fresh chick peas works well than canned.
- The ground mixture has to be refrigerated before frying, otherwise they disintegrate when frying.
- If you find them disintegrating, refrigerate the mixture for few more minutes or add more bread crumbs for binding.
- Make sure to transfer it to a cooling rack to retain its crispness. Leaving it too long in a paper towel lined plate would make them soft.
Amruta says
love this recipe...beautiful presentation..
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PriyaVaasu says
I make them often for my kiddo lunch box. tasty n healthy snacking!!! 🙂
Preeti Garg says
Falafal look perfect.... it's also in my to do list
Kalyani says
This is one dish thats on my to-do list... thanks for the recipe !
Suma Gandlur says
Love the middle eastern platter over there. :
)
Pavani says
I crave for falafel I guess ALL THE TIME. Yours looks crispy & delicious.
Manju says
Oh it's so nice, it's in my list for long time.
cookcookandcook says
Lovely.. Falafel looks delicious..
Srivalli says
I like how you have it for getting grilled..I am sure the kids enjoyed your treat!
Shylaja Praveen says
Falafel looks crispy and perfect
vaishali sabnani says
I like these cute falafals..they look perfectly fried to a nice golden!.. refrigerating the batter is something new I have learnt, will give it a shot next time.
Harini-Jaya Rupanagudi says
Wow! these are super tempting and I bet the kids had a feast !!
divya says
yummy cuties ,too tempting!!wonderful clicks..
Priya says
Omg, those cuties tempts me a lot, even they are baked or deep fried, never get bored of them.Thanks for sending to HDE..
Kitchen Queen says
Crunchy falafel. I had baked version at my space.
Nivedhanams Sowmya says
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Nivedhanams Sowmya says
super tempting and super delicious!!! perfectly made Sandhya!!!
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Love to Experiment says
Beautiful looking perfect falafels
Jayashree says
Hope your little one had lots of fun at the birthday party. The adults, I am sure, would have been happy munching on these falafels.
Akila says
Looks great
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Love to Experiment says
Hi Sandhya,
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Regards
Rajani S says
Lovely! Nice presentation and it looks really tempting!
Belated b'day wishes to your kid 🙂
Priya R says
Hope your little one enjoyed. Looks like a super filling snack I love chick peas in any form. Would love to try this.
Easy (EZ) Editorial Calendar says
Really good recipe...
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Thanks & Regards
Bensie Dorien.
thoushaltcook says
Love the little note about using fresh chickpeas. very thoughtful.
Gayathri Kumar says
Delicious falafel. I am yet to try out these cute cutlets...
Saras says
Woow, Scrumptious Felafel..Pass me the plate dear..
gayathri says
love this recipe...beautiful presentation..
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Sona S says
delicious, and nice clicks.
The Pumpkin Farm says
lovely platter, nice presentation
Chef Mireille says
perfectly crispy falafel
Anonymous says
It was delicious, Sandhya..
Preetha
veena krishnakumar says
Looks so inviting!Now , i want to make some too:-)