Falafel – A Middle Eastern Snack
Falafel is an extremely popular Middle Eastern snack with legumes. It is usually served with hummus and pita bread with salad on the side. The pita bread acts like a pocket in which the falafel is stuffed. It is a nice on-the-go snack and quite tasty too.
Falafel is a number one fast food in Israel. Easy to prepare and portable. And, it can beat a nice burger hands down. After all it is more nourishing.
The snack is an ancient delicacy of the people there. But is now quite loved all over the world. To suit our Indian palate we can throw in a few green chillies, which are not part of the original recipe. The chick peas used here should be the dry ones which are soaked overnight and not the canned ones. The canned ones tend to disintegrate while frying. Also, there is no need to cook the chickpeas before blending. That makes it a super quick and ready in a jiffy snack.
Falafel recipe
Ingredients :
- 1 cup chickpeas / kabuli chana
- ½ onion chopped
- 1 green chilly (optional)
- 1 cup coriander leaves
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp chilli powder
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- ½ tsp pepper powder
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- Oil for deep frying
- Salt to taste
Method :
- Soak 1 cup of chickpea with enough water for 8 to 10 hours.
- Next day, drain off the water and transfer to a bowl or food processor.
- Add the onion, coriander leaves, 2 cloves garlic, ½ tsp coriander seeds , ½ tsp cumin, chilli powder, pepper, crushed, 1 tbsp lemon juice and salt to taste.
- Blend coarsely in a food processor without adding any water.
- Add in baking soda and mix well.
- With slight wet hands prepare medium sized balls.
- Take care to not press the mixture too tight while shaping.
- Deep fry the falafel balls in hot oil.
- Keep the flame medium while frying
- Fry them till crisp and golden brown.
- Remove and serve them with hummus or sauce of your choice.
Handy tips :
- Use soaked dried chickpeas, canned chickpeas can fall apart while frying.
- Remove excess moisture from the soaked chickpeas to ensure they don’t break while frying.
- Do not crowd the pan, this will ensure they turn nice and crisp and do not break.
