Homemade Falafel Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 lb Dried chickpeas
- 4 oz Picked fresh cilantro, parsley, or mint leaves, or preferably a mixture of all three (about 4 cups)
- 1 Medium yellow onion, coarsely chopped
- 4 Medium garlic cloves, rough chopped
- 2 tsp Ground cumin
- 1 tsp Ground coriander seeds
- 1 tsp ground sumac optional
- 1-2 tsp Aleppo pepper or coarse gochugaru optional
- 3 tsp Kosher salt, plus more for seasoning (about 15–20 g)
- 4–6 C vegetable oil, for frying peanut or corn are best
Instructions
- Soak the chickpeas in a large bowl tepid of water for 12–24 hours. They will expand!
- Start preheating the oil: attach your ChefAlarm's probe to your heavy-bottomed pot, fill it no higher than half-way with oil, and start heating. Set the high-temp alarm to 350°F (177°C) and the low-temp alarm to 325°F (163°C).
- Drain the beans, combine them with the chopped onion and herbs and run them through the medium grind plate of a food grinder into a bowl. (Or put it all into a food processor and chop it to medium-fine.)
- Add the salt and spices to the bowl, mix, then re-grind.
- Shape the falafel by taking 2–3 Tbsp at a time and pressing it gently until it just holds its shape. Once all your mix is shaped and your oil is hot, start frying.
- Add 4–6 falafel balls at a time to the hot oil. Watch the oil temp on your ChefAlarm—it will drop when you add them. Adjust the heat of your stove to try to maintain as close to 350°F (177°C) as possible.
- Fry until the fritters turn deep golden brown, about 3–4 minutes. Remove your falafel to a paper-towel-lined baking sheet to drain while you let the oil temp recover and fry more falafel. Cook them all in this manner.
- Serve with whatever sauces and sides you see fit. Many people crush or flatten them someshat before stuffing them in a pita. (The yogurt-tahini sauce from our Chicken Shawarma post is excellent here!)
