Add to: Recipe Box | Grocery List | Meal PlannerRecipe submitted by posted on vegweb forum -
funkmeister_loki@hotmail.com, 08/09/03
Mr. Falafels FalafelIngredients (use vegan versions): 1 cup dried chickpeas (garbanzos) soaked in 5 cups of water for 25 hours
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup finely minced onion
2 tablespoon finely minced parsley
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
2 cloves garlic
Freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon lemon juice
a pinch (or more) of cayenne pepper
oil for frying (i.e. canola, sunflower, avocado)
Directions:This recipe was originally posted on Vegwebs forums by the user MrFalafel whilst vegweb had forums. Its possibly some of the best falafel ever.
Drain the chickpeas and put them into the container of a good processor or blender. Add the baking soda and salt. Turn the machine on and blend until you have the texture of coarse bread crumbs or fine bulgur wheat. You should NOT have a paste.
Empty the chickpeas into a bowl. Add the onion, parsley, cumin, coriander, garlic, black pepper, lemon juice, and cayenne. Mix gently with a fork. Do not pat down. This mixture should be loose and crumbly.
Put 2 inches of oil in a wok or other utensil for deep frying and set to a heat on a medium-low flame. You need a temperature of 350 to 375 degrees F. While the oil heats, form the first batch of patties. Using a very light touch, form patties that are about 2 1/4 inches in diameter, about 3/4 inch thick in the center and less so at the edges. Do not pat down or try to be too neat. The patties should just about hold together. Put as many patties into the hot oil as the utensil will hold in a single layer. Fry about 4 minutes or until the patties a reddish brown on both sides. Turn at least once during the frying process. When the patties are done, remove them with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel. do all of the patties this way.
Thats pretty much it. Heres some tips:
1.) Use the right oil: Olive oil is not good for frying, due to its low smoke point. Choose an oil with a higher smoke point, such as Canola, sunflower or avocado oil.
2.) Use fresh herbs & spices where possible. The fresher they are, the better they taste
3.) If you substitute dried chickpeas with canned, don't add salt, since canned chickpeas contain salt anyway.
4.) Falafel is best served in a pita with salad.
Serves: depends how hungry you are
Preparation time: 40 mins (plus soaking time for chickpeas)
I tried this recipe tonight. It was a disaster! They totally fell apart during cooking, I had to fish out the crumbs with a slotted spoon! Any ideas on what I might have done wrong?
Archived comment by: samamph
I too had problems with the patties falling apart, but overall it was very yummy and I plan to add this recipe to my repetoire. I made a few alterations: the first batch made me violently ill--I think it was all the grease. So for the 2nd batch I just coated the bottom of a frying pan with canola oil and browned the mixture. I think it had a better flavor and is healthier this way. I gave up on patties, as they fell apart, and just threw the mixture into the pan loose. After browning, I drained on a paper towel and then formed one large flat patty that held together well on a pita. For serving, I put it on a lightly seasoned greek pita brushe'd with plain yogurt (really brings out the flavors well) and some crumbled Feta cheese, then topped with lettuce and tomato. Very yummy.
Archived comment by: sarasue
This is one of the worst falafel recipes I've ever made and eaten!!! It tastes nothing real falafels.
Archived comment by: esh_21
hey, by accident i gave mr.falfels falafel a 5, meant to give it a 1. sorry. it is just a lame recipe. but i am surprised even more with the people who have attempted to make this recipe.isn't it obvious that there is nothing to hold together the patty no binder, but binders do not have to be eggs or chesse, or even bread crumbs.i haven't made this particular recipe myself but i doubt that it ever held together not even in your hand before frying. so do i have advice, yes well first off the person that fried them and got sick, either you used the wrong kind of oil, by the way avocado oil is to heavy think of all the fat(good fat)in avacados. not to mention, not very cheap. use a good quailty veg oil. at a high temp. test a crumb in the oil, if you don't have a thermometer. it is hot enough if it bubbles around it and starts to fry, quickly. then go for it. cooking in oil doesn't have to be greasy or totally unhealthy.anyway, as for the recipe, and binders chick peas are very dry play around with your ingredients, add more lemon juice use some spinach, fava beans, a little oil. also i have seen a recipe that calls for flour a couple of teaspoons, this may be the way to go.( don't freak out! use unbleached pollen flour) just kidding, but there are
plenty of alternatives to that evil white flour. sorry if i was a little harsh, i just wish people wouldn't be so helpless this is what gives vegtarians and vegans a rep. for bland boring food. it is annoying. thanks
Archived comment by: lisa22
I made this recipe for dinner tonight. I followed the directions exactly and did not alter the ingredients. I had tried another falafel recipe from this site before, but they weren't very tasty and the chickpeas needed to be soaked longer than instructed. My family loved this recipe and I will definitely make these again. We ate them on whole wheat pitas with lettuce, tomato and a tahini sauce which I made with tahini, lemon juice, garlic and water. Yum! As the recipe stated, the patties barely held together, but once they started cooking, they did not fall apart and they turned out great.
Archived comment by: towanda
