Make your own falafel recipes

Falafel (aka Felafel) is probably the ultimate street food. Easy to prepare at home and outdoors, this Middle Eastern staple makes an impressive treat at any tailgating party or friendly gathering.

Felafel comes in many shapes and sizes - sometimes a small ball, and sometimes a flat burger, and indeed anything in between.

And when you make it yourself, you get to determine the shape and size.

Of all chickpea recipes, this exquisite Middle Eastern street food is second in popularity only to hummus, another popular chickpea recipe, and with which it is often served (in the Israeli variation anyway).

Making felafel is very easy, and much quicker than making hummus, for instance. It's worthwhile making both at home, though, as a minimum of effort produces excellent results.

So, invite your friends over, get your pita, salad, hummus, tahini and pickles ready - and prepare yourself for a real treat!

Picture of Falafel dish

Try this quick & easy felafel recipe:

Makes about 25 falafel balls (Serve about 5 in a full pita bread, or 2- 3 in half sized pockets)

Ingredients:

2 cups chickpeas (that have been covered in water for 12 hours)
Crumbs from 2 slices of brown bread (you can shred in a food processor)
5 cloves garlic, sliced
2 teaspoons baking soda
½ cup parsley, shredded
½ cup cilantro, shredded
½ small onion, shredded
1 teaspoon sesame seeds (optional)
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Slat and pepper, to taste
Vegetable oil for deep pan frying

Preparation:

Soak the chickpeas in cold water overnight. You can skip this stage if you used canned chickpeas (heaven forbid)
Rinse and drain the chickpeas, and blend in a food processor together with the garlic, onion and herbs.
Transfer the mixture to a bowl, add the seasoning and mix well.
Cover and leave to rest for 30 minutes or so.
Heat the oil (it should be hot but not boiling)
Add the baking soda to the mixture, mix well and form into balls
Fry in deep oil until they are golden brown.

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