Falafel Recipe | How to make Crispy Falafel

Feb 25, 2023 by Priya_Srinivasan ·

Falafel, deep-fried chickpea balls, favorite street food available all through the middle-east. Falafel balls can be eaten as such as a snack or served as part of a meze tray (assortment of appetizers).

What is Falafel?

Falafel is made from fava beans or chickpeas, or a combination. When made with chickpeas, falafel is high in protein, complex carbohydrates, and fiber.

These crispy deep fried snack is eaten throughout the Middle East and a common street food. The Coptic's of Egypt claim to have first made the dish as a replacement for meat during Lent. The fritters are now found around the world as a replacement for meat and as a form of street food.

During Ramadan, you will find these crispy falafel balls in almost all the cafeterias for iftar, the meal that breaks the daily fast after sunset.

For us South-Indians, this authentic falafel is almost like our Paruppu vadai, though the spices added varies a bit. The best falafel recipe uses spices like coriander, cumin and loads of fresh coriander and parsley. Authentic recipe uses onion and garlic too, since i don't cook with them, i haven't used them both and didn't miss them at all.

Ingredients

The main : Chickpeas, use dried chickpeas. Soak them overnight, drain and use them.
Spices : Green chilies, pepper and cumin are the main spices in this appetizer.
Greens : Loads of fresh parsley, fresh coriander and few mint leaves are used to make authentic falafel.
Leavening : a tad bit of baking soda is added to the falafel batter, it gives a fluffy texture.
Fried or Baked : These delish chickpea snack can be baked, air-fried or deep-fried. Authentic falafels are deep fried.

Step-wise Instructions

Please check recipe card below for exact measurements of each ingredient used and also for the detailed instructions

Soak the chickpeas for 8-10 hours minimum. I prefer to soak them overnight.
Drain the chickpeas well. Take them in a food processor, add chilies, coriander, cumin, pepper, fresh coriander, parsley , sesame seeds and mint.

Blend them into a coarse mixture. Remove the ground chickpeas mixture to a wide plate. Let it sit for 30 minutes.
Just before frying, add baking soda and mix well. Heat oil for deep-frying and shape the chickpea mixture to flat patties or balls and deep fry them to golden brown.
Drain on a paper towel. Enjoy them as such or in a sandwich or part of mezze with an assortment of dips.

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What to serve with this Snack?

I prefer to eat these crispy deep fried golden beauties as such. When made with right spices, you actually don't need anything as side.

If you are throwing a party, check this simple recipes that can be part of your mezze.

Check these condiments to serve for your mezze minty yogurt sauce and Turkish Cacik. If you love labneh, check this colorful beets labneh and a spicy coriander labneh.

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Recipe Card