Recipe: Spicy Falafels
- The Honest Project
- May 27, 2015
- 2 min read
Falafels are really quick and handy to make. With this recipe you can either fry the falafels on a pan in oil or bake them in the oven. I tend to bake them in the oven as it's healthier, but also because it's much handier than standing over a frying pan. One tip with making falafels is to use dry chickpeas that have been soaked but not cooked. They work much better than using tinned chickpeas or ones that have been cooked.
I usually serve these with a light and fresh salad and some hummus. Today I had it with a really simple salad of chopped mango, spring onion and cucumber dressed with a little balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil. I also had some smoked paprika ketchup left over from earlier in the week and so I drizzled this over the falafels. Yum - the humble chickpea stricks again !!
Ingredients:
3 cups of dried chickpeas.
1/2 red chilli pepper, finely chopped (more if you like your falafels really spicy)
Juice of 1 lemon
1 onion, finely chopped
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
Handful of chopped parsley
2 tablespoons of garam flour (chickpea flour)
1 teaspoon of ground cumin
1 teaspoon of ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper to season
Method:
Soak the chickpeas in water overnight. Drain the chickpeas and rinse them well. Add them to a food processor
Add the remaining ingredients to the food processor.
Pulse all of the ingredients together until they are combined but are still quite course. Avoid over blending the mixture as it will become too smooth. Put the mixture in the fridge for about an hour.
The falafels can be cooked by either frying them in oil on a pan or baking them in the oven. If doing the former, heat about one inch of extra virgin olive oil over a medium heat. Add small patties of the mixture to the oil and allow to cook for about six minutes, turning half way through. They should be browned on both sides. If baking the falafels in the oven, pre heat the oven at 180 degrees celsius and place the mixture in patties on a lined baking tray. Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes, turning half way through.
Serve with a simple salad of your choice and either hummus or homemade tomato salsa.
