The article contains comprehensive information about the recipe for making falafel at home: step-by-step instructions, recommendations on the use of spices and molding of the product. Also given are several recipes with various additives that make the taste of vegan fast food more diverse.
What is falafel?
Small balls, reminiscent of deep-fried meatballs, which are one of the vegan's favorite goodies, came to our country from Israel. This country is considered the birthplace of this dish, despite the fact that falafel is cooked throughout the southern part of Eurasia and northern Africa and is referred to as fast food - like burgers and hot dogs in European countries.
The classic recipe for falafel - from chickpeas with a combination of a large bouquet of spices, also add greens to give the dish a similar color, as well as turmeric to make minced falafel yellow. Most often it is served wrapped in a local fresh tortilla, with various sauces, vegetables or canned food.
Easiest recipe
Falafel is very easy to prepare at home, no matter what people who are little aware of this dish say. Its main secret is correctly cooked minced meat, very similar to meat cutlet, only when it was cooked, not a single living creature was killed. The necessary ingredients are few:
- Soak 450 grams of chickpea overnight or 12 hours.
- Chop three onions into small cubes.
- Grind one bunch of cilantro and parsley.
- Three garlic cloves in a mortar, together with 1/3 teaspoon cumin, black pepper. Add to them 1 teaspoon of salt.
- Break one regular unsweetened bun into pieces and sprinkle with water a little. It can be replaced with 50 grams of breadcrumbs.
Pass all the ingredients through a meat grinder and mix in one dish, giving the forcemeat a consistency of a nice greenish tint.
Step cooking
Next, according to the recipe for cooking falafel, the product is molded: small balls the size of a large walnut or a ping-pong ball. To do this, lightly grease the hands with vegetable oil, pluck off a piece of minced meat, squeeze it tightly, creating a dense texture, and then roll the ball between the palms in a circular motion, forming a perfect round shape. In a small stewpan or saucepan with thick walls, heat 500 grams of vegetable oil. It is important that the dishes are small, otherwise much more oil is needed, because the chickpeas should be buried in it, deep-fried. Fry until golden brown, turning them with a fork if necessary, and take them out on paper so that it absorbs excess fat.
Lentil Falafel in the oven
If the usual deep-fried home-made falafel recipe does not fit according to nutritional principles (the attending doctor does not recommend fried in a pan) or there is simply no time to stand by the stove, then you can prepare these fragrant balls in the oven using lentils, which are soaked for no more than 2-3 hours, which is also very convenient if falafel is planned for the unexpected arrival of vegan friends.
Required Products:
- 450 grams of lentils, whether green or red.
- Large sweet onion.
- A bunch of green onions and parsley.
- Six cloves of garlic.
- Juice from 1/2 lemon.
- 1 teaspoon of coriander, cumin and salt;
- 2 tbsp. tablespoons of whole grain flour, which, if necessary, can be replaced with the same amount of oatmeal, crushed in a coffee grinder.
When the lentils swell, grind it together with herbs and onions with a blender or meat grinder, add spices, flour and lemon juice, mix thoroughly and sculpt the balls, but flatten them slightly so that they lie better on the baking sheet and do not roll on its surface. Be sure to grease the bottom of the pan with olive oil so that the falafel does not stick. We bake in the oven at a temperature of 220 degrees until a delicious crust appears.
With bulgur
This recipe for falafel is somewhat different from the classical one in that it contains cereals from a specially processed wheat, which makes it more satisfying, and minced meat is more pliable when forming balls. Step by step cooking is as follows:
- Grind 250 grams of chickpeas soaked at night with a blender, after draining the remaining water, you can also rinse it under running water.
- 3-4 tbsp. spoons of bulgur soak in water for ten minutes, and then add it to the bean mass.
- Finely chop a bunch of cilantro (parsley) of medium size with a knife, do the same with a large onion and four cloves of garlic. Send a cut to the chickpea minced meat.
- Next, grind spices in a mortar or coffee grinder: 1 teaspoon of coriander, 2 teaspoons of zira, 1/4 teaspoon of cardamom, red cayenne pepper and allspice, you can add a pinch of curry if desired. Carefully mix the resulting aromatic mixture and pour it into the minced meat.
- Once again, thoroughly mix the whole mass with a blender and then form the falafel.
Deep-fry and serve still warm, wrapped in chapati or other unleavened flat cake with vegetable slices.
The traditional version of Israel
The classic Falafel recipe looks like this:
- 250 grams of Turkish peas;
- 1 tbsp. a spoon of light sesame;
- 3 teaspoons of coriander and cumin (zira - the second name of this spice);
- 3-4 stalks of green onions;
- 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice;
- 0.5 teaspoon hot cayenne pepper.
Chickpeas should be soaked overnight so that it swells and becomes soft, and then turn it into minced meat using a blender. Sesame lightly fry in a dry hot pan and grind in a mortar to powder, you can also use a coffee grinder. Grind coriander and zira, combine with sesame seeds and add to the mixture 1/3 teaspoon of olive oil, pepper, mix and let it brew a little.
Chop the onion very finely and combine with the chickpea paste, add the spicy mixture and lemon juice to them. Stir thoroughly until smooth. Form and fry falafel according to the recipe specified above from the obtained meat.
With carrots in pita bread
This recipe with a photo of falafel will make it clear how this dish is usually served and what to eat with. To prepare the stuffing you will need:
- 200 grams of chickpea. Soak it beforehand, and grind it already swollen with a meat grinder.
- Sweet red onion and carrots. Cut into small pieces and also pass through a meat grinder.
- Shred a large bunch of parsley and add to the chickpea.
- 150 grams of pea flour (if not, you can regular), 1/3 teaspoon black pepper and coriander, salt to taste. Mix and place in the minced meat, which is again passed through the meat grinder, knead well with your hands and form the falafel, which we fry in the usual way.
Next, take a sheet of pita bread (if large, then cut into two parts), in the middle lay out circles of fresh cucumbers and tomatoes, a little sweet onion, chopped with very thin half rings, and also any greens (green salad, romaine, iceberg, spinach). We put three or four falafels on them, pour abundantly with sauce and wrap tightly like a roll or envelope so that the filling does not fall out.
Cooking Sesame Sauce
Next, according to the recipe for falafel in pita bread, sauce should be prepared: 200 grams of light sesame grind in a coffee grinder or mortar, pour four tbsp. tablespoons of olive oil and three teaspoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice. Also add a couple of cloves of garlic, a bunch of parsley, chopped with a sharp knife, and salt to taste. You can also add a pinch of black pepper. Mix the sauce with a blender to a uniform consistency and use as intended.
Nevegan option
This Falafel recipe differs from all others in that it contains cheese and eggs, which means it will be rejected by vegans, since they do not eat animal products. However, this product will not prevent all other lovers of this dish from enjoying its non-standard taste. In order to cook the stuffing, you need to prepare:
- 200 grams of chickpea.
- A small bunch of parsley.
- One egg.
- 100 grams of soft cheese (feta cheese, suluguni).
- Half a pod of chili pepper.
- For 0.5 tsp cumin, coriander and black pepper, you can also add a couple of cloves of garlic for flavor.
Grind the swollen chickpeas and chopped greens with a blender, add spices, finely chopped pepper and egg and knead again until uniform, salt to taste. Cheese cut into small cubes, about 2 -3 centimeters in size. Form balls from minced meat and put a piece of cheese in each, rolling it into a mass. Deep-fried falafel, put on paper to glass the butter, and serve hot with hot sauce or vegetables.
Some cooking tips
One of the important aspects: the mass for the preparation of falafel should not resemble the consistency of mashed potatoes, then when frying it will fall apart. We focus on the similarity with minced meat for traditional cutlets: small pieces of the main ingredient should be present.
If you add 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda to the minced meat immediately before roasting falafel, then it will become more loose. Do not pour a lot, otherwise the taste of soda will spoil the original taste of the dish.
If the minced meat turned out to be liquidy, then you can add a little breadcrumbs to it, or in extreme cases flour. You can also add oatmeal, ground in flour, wheat or rye bran.
It is better to fry falafel in hot, but not boiling oil, which will smoke and bitter. Since this dish is fried very quickly, it is best to stick balls in advance and then take up the heat treatment in order to be in time. If, on the contrary, you put too many balls in the oil at a time, lowering the temperature of the deep fat will adversely affect the taste of the dish.
When frying, falafel should not stick to the bottom of the dishes - this is a signal that the forcemeat is too heavy and thick, you need to add a little water to it, mix well and try again to bake a new portion. Be sure to try the first ball to find out the amount of salt and its structure.