Falafel (Arabic: فلافل falaafil (help·info), Hebrew: פָלָאפֶל; also known in Egypt and Sudan as ta'meya, Arabic طعمية), is a fried ball or patty made from spiced fava beans and/or chickpeas. It is a popular form of fast food in the Middle East, where it is also served as a mezze (snack or tapas). The word "falafel" is the plural of the Arabic word فلفل (filfil), meaning pepper.[1] Variant spellings in English include felafel and filafil.
Falafel is usually served as a sandwich wrapped in pita bread, and outside the Middle East, the term "falafel" commonly refers to this sandwich—falafel in a pita is typical street food or fast food. Along with the falafel balls, which may be crushed onto the bread or added whole, topping variations are usually included. Falafel balls may also be eaten alone as a snack or served as part of a mezze. During Ramadan they are sometimes eaten as part of an iftar, the meal which breaks the daily fast after sunset.
Serves: 8
Difficulty: medium
Prep & Cook time: 2 hours
Falafel Recipe:
2 cups dried garbanzo beans
1 1/2 cup dried fava beans
1 cup cilantro (coriander leaves)
1/2 cup parsley
8 garlic cloves minced
2 tsp salt
1 tbs coriander
1 tsp cumin
1 very large onion
1/2 tsp blk pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup flour
2 tsp baking soda, added 15 minutes before frying
1/2 tsp baking powder
Soak the garbanzo beans and fava beans in water over night before the day of cooking. Drain the beans and blend the garbanzo beans and fava beans in a food processor until the beans are the consistency of bread crumbs, empty into a large bowl. Next put the onion, garlic, cilantro and parsley in the blender and blend until it is a paste consistency, add to bean mixture. To the bowl add the cumin, coriander, salt, black pepper, bread crumbs and cayenne pepper and mix very well. Taste to see if you would like to add more salt or not. Stir in the baking soda, baking powder and flour to the bean mixture and mix well, let sit 15-20 minutes before frying. Heat about 1 inch of vegetable oil in a 2 to 3 inch frying pan, turn to medium-low heat. Mold the falafel mixture into small balls and drop into oil to fry, continually turn over the falafel balls to keep the color an even brown on all sides, when they are a medium brown color, remove the balls and drain on a paper towel for a minute. Serve warm and fresh with tahini sauce, pickles and vegetables.
hallo,just discovered your site and i already like it a lot,although i havent tried anything yet.also i m trying to help out my mom with how to make falafel and i sent her your link already.
my question:in the video you dont use baking powder,soda or flour.how important is it,or does it work just as well without those things like you do in the video?
really looking forward to be trying out your recipes!
thank you for it and all the best to you from vienna
lars
nahalmilani
|68.14.11.xxx
|2010-04-06 14:57:04
hi Dede, I trid the falafel today. it tasted good,but they started to open up while frying. I dont know what went wrong. also wanted to know how long would you suggest to fry them so they are still soft and get a nice color. thank you
fdem
- Falafel
|66.108.36.xxx
|2010-02-28 03:42:42
I tried making your recipe for falafel, but the falafels start to disintegrate when I try to fry them. What am I doing wrong?? I followed your recipe to the T. Help!
Ruchishah
- Excellent recipe
|75.34.228.xxx
|2010-01-15 19:51:47
Thanks for such nice recipe dede.....
Last time made with some different recipe n it was worst......
This time i made with ur recipe n its turn outs gr8......
U r really gr8 cook...u explain such nice way....
Thanks a lot....u made my day.....
pollyg
- close up of food/hands when cooking and alternativ
|95.170.19.xxx
|2010-01-12 07:15:57
really good site with interesting recipies i'm dying to try. Would be really nice to see close up of your hands when you cook. Or close up of the foods before cooking, so we can see what they look like eg. the size of chick peas after soaking etc. Also some ingredients may be difficult to obtain ie. Tahini can you write something on how to make your own tahini paste? Are there alternative beans you can you than the ones you suggest? Again, some of us may not be able to find all ingredients. I live in rural France so it's difficult for me.
Hummus 
