falafel 101

a little while back, i received a request for a recipe and instructions on how to make falafel, or chickpea fritters, the most ubiquitous israeli and middle eastern snack food. i often think every israeli must eat his/her own weight in these per year! i know i did when i lived there and it is something which you cannot get enough of. all over the country of israel, and i'm sure other neighbouring countries, there are stands which sell these where the buyer can choose from a vast variety of ingredients and sauces to fill their falafel (pita) sandwiches. often people will have a favourite vendor who has certain ingredients and special sauces unique to that particular stand.

making these at home is not complicated at all. i have seen many, many different recipes and this is one of the better ones. i often see recipes with instructions to include eggs and flour. this is absolutely NOT necessary as demonstrated here. despite what you may think after reading through the ingredients, the mixture holds together beautifully without and "foreign" binders being added. they result in light, airy and delicious nuggets of deep shallow fried perfection.

this version uses only chickpeas and includes the use of sesame seeds. other countries such as egypt and saudi arabia will use ful [fava beans] or a combination of ful and chickpeas to make theirs.

these falafel can also be prepared in bigger batches by doubling the amounts. you will need to divide up the soaked chickpeas into 3 or 4 portions for grinding, however, if you decide to do this. once the falafel are all fried, place them in ziploc (resealable plastic) bags and freeze. just reheat them at 350F in your oven for 10 - 15 minutes and serve as if they were just made.

falafel פלאפל فلافل
fried chickpea fritters

ingredients:

1 c dry chickpeas
1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 to 3/4 large onion
2 - 3 large cloves garlic

1 1/4 tsp (kosher) salt
1/4 - 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 - 1/2 tsp red chilli powder (cayenne) or chili flakes
1 1/2 - 2 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp turmeric, opt.

3 - 4 tbsp sesame seeds
2 - 3 tbsp chopped parsley or coriander

1 tsp baking powder

3 to 4 cups oil, for shallow frying

method:

place the 1 cup of dry chickpeas in a bowl and fill the bowl with water. swish the water around with your hands and discard all the husks and other debris which rises. rinse and repeat several times.

refill the bowl with water and add the baking soda. the baking soda will [supposedly] help dissipate some of the oligosaccharides from the chickpeas, aiding in digestion later on.

soak the chickpeas overnight. i like to soak them for a full 24 hours to allow them absorb their maximum water content. if you do this 24 hour soak, do it in the fridge as they may ferment if you have a hot kitchen. you will notice that they will have swelled considerably and that there may be little bubbles which have formed — that is fine. as long as it does not smell fermented and "off" which can occur in a very hot kitchen (80 F and over).

the next day discard all the water and rinse well. drain and set aside.

remove the skin from your onion and garlic and set aside.

place the garlic and onion in the blender or food processor and process it until you get a paste which is watery (from the onion juices). this will help with the grinding of the chickpeas.

add a portion of the chickpeas and grind them with the onion-garlic paste. if using a blender, i highly suggest processing them in two [or three] batches as the regular home blenders are not always that powerful. it will take up to 10 minutes to fully grind them to a nice paste — be patient, it does work :) but don't overheat your blender. turn it off every few minutes to give it a little rest. the final texutre should be slightly gritty with no chunks whatsoever. if the grinding is being done in batches, divide up the onion so you have a bit in each batch to aid in the processing and breakdown of the chickpeas.

it is very important to use a spatula to push down the sides every now and again and to redistribute it; it tends to compact itself around and underneath the blades. keep processing the mixture until it is pasty. do NOT add water if you can avoid it; it does not need it [even though you will feel tempted to do so]. if you do add some, i would not add much beyond 3 to 4 tablespoons (a little more is okay, too).

remove the paste to a bowl. it should have the consistency of mashed potatoes, more or less.

add all the remaining ingredients and mix well.

now place the bowl in the fridge and let it rest for minimum of an hour. you can keep it in the fridge for up to two days.

put the oil in your fry pan and heat it for about 10 minutes on medium heat. i only fry these with a bare 2 1/2 inches of oil. you do not need tons of oil.

add a very small ball (tiny one) to test if the oil is ready. it should float to the surface and sizzle quite happily. turn down the oil if it is too high. remember your oil temperature will drop when you add several of the falafel at once.

at this point, it may be a good idea to make and taste a test falafel to see if it needs more of anything in terms of seasoning. remember, these are usually added to a pita and filled with a variety of things such as shredded lettuce, pickles, hot peppers, torshi lift, or pink turnip pickle, fried eggplant, and tehina sauce {among many other possible items} but can be eaten on their own with a salad and tehina sauce.

in order to shape the falafel balls, you need to moisten your hands. your hands should not be "wet" but moist enough so that the mixture does not stick to your hands.

take a tablespoon full of the mixture and shape it into a 1 1/2 to 2 inch ball which is patty shaped, i.e rounded but flattened.

carefully place these in the oil and fry until they are golden on both sides. they should take about 4 minutes per side. that time may vary, however, with the temperature of your oil. it is important to use moist hands to shape these as wet ones will have water clinging to the fritters and the droplets will explode in the water and possibly burn you when they pop.

cooking tip: to achieve the perfect falafel ball, baste the top of the uncooked part with the hot oil as the underside cooks. this forms a temporary skin and prevents the batter sticking to the spoon or making indentations when you try to flip them over. you can also tell when they are ready to flip from the colour of the undersides.

remove the balls to absorbent paper towel to drain.

i suggest placing newspaper around your stove area to make clean up easier. be careful however as oil and heat aren't too friendly with newspaper.

now go fill up those pita breads and enjoy!