Chickpeas are one of my
I grew up in the Middle East, so chickpeas for me immediately translates to Hummus and Falafel! A simple Lebanese Mezze is still one of my all-time
Ingredient substitutions
Let’s start with the ones you absolutely should not substitute! I would not recommend substituting any of the spices except perhaps you could switch pepper powder out with some chilli powder. If you don’t have Besan you could use all purpose flour and vice versa. Baking powder used to add some lightness to the falafels, but I will admit that on occasion I have forgotten to add it and my falafels weren’t ruined. Traditionally, you would use parsley however, I don’t always get parsley where I live so sometimes I substitute it with coriander leaves and honestly, I kinda like it better! Feel free to switch back, or even use a combination of the two!
Try it with…
-Vegetarian shawarma/rolls with some hummus and vegetables.
-Salads, for a vegetarian protein and flavour punch!
-Burgers! Shape the falafels into burger patties and stick them between two burger buns slathered with garlic sauce.
-As an easy and healthy evening snack.
I usually make a whole batch and freeze them. That way, all I need to do is prep a salad and fry a few bullets before my meals. The instructions for freezing falafels are given below the recipe.
Enjoy!
Falafel
Equipment
- Food Processor/Mixer
Ingredients
- 1 cup Dry Chickpeas
- 1 no Small Onion (or half a large one)
- 4 pods Garlic
- 1 cup Chopped Coriander Leaves
- 1.5 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Cumin
- 1/2 tsp Coriander Powder
- 1/4 tsp Baking Soda
- 1 tbsp Flour
- 2 tbsp Gram Flour (Besan)
Instructions
- Soak chickpeas overnight or for 12 – 16 hours.
- Drain the chickpease, wash well and dry thoroughly.
- Add all ingredients (except AP flour and gram flour) to a food processer and pulse till coarsely ground.
- Add one tbsp of AP flour and 1 tbsp of gram flour and mix.
- Depending on the texture of the mixture, you can add one more tbsp of gram flour.
- You're looking for a mixture that holds its shape but is still coarse and grainy. Do not overmix.
- Pack into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap.
- Refrigerate for at least 2 hours
- Shape into balls or patties.
- Shallow fry patties or deep fry balls till dark brown.
To Freeze
- Once shaped into balls, freeze uncovered for 2 hours.
- Transfer to freezer safe bags and keep frozen.
- Remove required quantity from freezer and fry immediately.
