Falafel recipe with all its secrets and tricks

If we talk about Middle Eastern food, these little croquettes are for sure one of the first options that come our to mind. Falafel is often made with a chickpea base paste, but originally in Egypt they used broad beans (foul in Arabic, the word from which the name of this recipe derives). It is also possible to use a mixture of these two ingredients, in variable proportions.

The day before, place the chickpeas in a big enough container. Cover them with enough water, since they will double their size when hydrated, and add a little baking powder. The next day, discard the water and rinse them. Let them dry and optionally peel them.

Afterwards, blend them together with the onion, garlic, parsley, coriander, spices and baking powder. Reserve the resulting paste in the fridge for at least an hour.

After that waiting time, shape the falafel, either with a mold or by hand. Heat oil in a saucepan and fry the falafel until golden brown.

Traditionally it is served in pita bread with different vegetables, pickles and a tahini sauce.

How to make the tahini sauce:

Mix some tahini, with lemon juice and salt, until emulsified. If the sauce is very thick, add a little water and keep mixing until achieving the desired consistency.

Tips and tricks:

1. Some people are surprised to read that chickpeas should be uncooked, so I confirm that this is not a mistake. By using cooked ones, the falafel will inevitably fall apart.
2. The baking powder helps to soften the chickpeas and also to achieve a fluffier falafel.
3. Letting the chickpeas dry is a detail that allows the dough to be drier, and therefore more compact. This is another of the small tricks that help to form a falafel which doesn’t fall apart when fried.
4. Peeling the chickpeas is a job that no one would accept. However, I still advise to do it because the peel has a high amount of fiber that, being indigestible, produces gases in our body. A trick that can help is buying large chickpeas that later involve less of this work.
5. Spices are to taste, but cumin is the one that provides the main and characteristic flavor. It is advisable to season generously, since broad beans or chickpeas are relatively tasteless.
6. Reserving the preparation in the fridge is another good trick, since the cold helps it to compact, making it easier to shape the falafel.
7. Families in the Middle East usually have at home a special mold for forming falafel. You can replace it with a filter of a small mocca coffee maker.
8. Despite not being traditional, I really like forming falafel into relatively small balls. In this way, there is a higher proportion of crispy sourface.
9. After frying, I usually leave the falafel on absorbent kitchen paper. But the chickpea doesn’t absorb much oil anyway.
10. The vegetables to accompany can be varied. Tomato and onion are usual, but parsley and radish are almost mandatory.
11. Any pickle will do as garnish, but the turnip pickle is the most traditional to accompany the falafel. Both its color and its flavor are unmistakable, you can consult this link to prepare the pickled turnips very easily at home.