Bhubaneswar: Falafel is a popular food in and around the Middle East, where vendors sell it on street corners in places such as Egypt, Greece, Syria, and Israel. It’s also popular among vegetarians.
Ingredients
- 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 to 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil, more as needed
Steps to Make It
- Gather the ingredients.
- Combine chickpeas, garlic, onion, parsley, coriander, cumin, salt, and pepper (to taste) in a medium bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of flour and combine well.
- Mash chickpeas, making sure ingredients are thoroughly mixed together and mixture binds easily when shaped into a ball. (Alternatively, combine ingredients in a food processor. Pulse, then process, scraping down bowl occasionally with a silicone spatula, until mixture is mostly smooth, about 1 minute.) Add an extra tablespoon of flour if mixture is too sticky. The result should be a thick paste.
- Form mixture into pingpong-sized balls. Slightly flatten.
- Add oil to a large skillet and heat over medium-high until oil shimmers. Shallow-fry falafel in batches to avoid crowding pan, 2 to 5 minutes per batch, flipping when browned on one side and adding more oil, if needed. Remove from skillet and drain on paper towels. Serve falafel by itself, or with warm pita bread with veggies, or tahini sauce.
Recipe Variation
If you don’t want to deep-fry or pan-fry the falafel, you can bake it instead. Here’s how:
Heat the oven to 375 F. Spray a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray or line it with parchment paper. Place the falafel balls 3 inches apart. Bake for 10 minutes, flip, and bake for an extra 10 to 12 minutes, until golden brown.
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