May 8th, 2020
My first attempt at homemade falafels was a complete fail, and this time was a success! The only thing I struggled with was not having a food processor because it broke, so I had to improvise by processing each ingredient separately in the Magic Bullet. That’s why there were some chunky chickpea bits in the falafel, but they were still tasty!
The two main tips I realized when researching this recipe: First, don’t use canned chickpeas! Canned chickpeas are already cooked, and they can make the falafel mushy. Instead, soak chickpeas, ideally overnight in cold water, but if you are in a time crunch, or like me, forgetful, you can soak in hot water for at least 5 hours. Second, make sure your oil is hot enough! I did a shallow fry in a cast iron, and my oil was smoking and well over 220F. For deep frying, oil should be 350F, but my thermometer maxes out before that.
I was trying to achieve the falafel and rice bowl served at DishDash, a local Middle Eastern restaurant. My falafel were pretty good flavor-wise, but definitely not shape- or crumb-wise. The rice was a little mushy, and next time I think I’ll toast it longer. Live and learn.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup rice
- 2 tbs neutral oil
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- Pinch red pepper flakes
- 1 cup water + 1 cup vegetable broth, boiling
- 1 cup dried chickpeas, soaked overnight (don’t use canned chickpeas)
- 1/2 onion, roughly chopped
- 3/4 cup parsley, roughly chopped
- 3/4 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
- 1 small green chili pepper
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 tsp cumin seed, toasted and ground
- 1 tsp coriander seed, toasted and ground
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp cardamom
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 cucumber, diced
- 2 tomatoes, diced
- Olive oil
- Salt to taste
- 4 tbsp lemon juice, divided
- 1/4 cup yogurt
- 1/4 fresh mint, minced
Directions:
- For the rice, toast washed rice in oil, turmeric, and crushed red pepper flakes for at least 3 minutes. Add boiling liquid and simmer until all the liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes.
- In a food processor, process all ingredients from chickpeas to baking soda until desired consistency is reached. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, up to an hour.
- For the tabouli-ish vegetable mix, toss cucumber, tomatoes, 1 tbsp lemon juice, and olive oil and salt to taste.
- For the yogurt, mix remaining 3 tbsp lemon juice, yogurt, and mint. You can optionally add salt, cayenne pepper, and olive oil.
- To cook the falafel, you can shallow fry or bake falafel “patties” or deep fry falafel balls. Shape the mixture into balls, then fry or bake in neutral oil. Make sure your oil is hot enough, it should be around the smoke point.
- Cook until golden brown, then drain on paper towel lined plates.
- Serve everything together, maybe with some sriracha or tahini! Enjoy!
