Traditional Chickpea Falafel Pockets excerpted from Falafel: Delicious recipes for Middle Eastern-style patties, plus sauces, pickles, salads and breads by Dunja Gulin.
Falafel are deep-fried balls or patties of chickpea or fava beans, with added herbs, spices, onion, garlic and are widely eaten across the Middle East. While the style varies from region to region, they are usually eaten in a wrap or pitta with salad, tahini, pickles, and a spicy sauce.
In North America, prior to the 70s, falafel was found only in Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, and Jewish neighbourhoods and restaurants. Today, the dish is a common and popular street food in many cities throughout America. It’s not hard to see why: they also fall into that wondrous overlapping category of being crave-worthy and satisfying, as well as nutritious and fairly low in fat. What’s more, they are a brilliant source of protein for those who don’t eat meat. They are also rich in fiber, and often made with added vegetables, nuts and seeds, or grains, as are many of the delicious recipes in this book.
Try the Fennel & Lemon Scented Falafel or Juicy Brown Rice Faux-lafel. Find Crunchy Sesame Falafel or Falafel Croquettes or enjoy snacks such as tasty Mediterranean Seed Falafel, all packed with good stuff, and very low fat. Whip up a drizzle such as Home-made Tahini Sauce as the perfect complement to your hot, freshly cooked patties. Finally, make tangy quick pickles, crisp herby salads, and easy flatbreads so you can serve your freshly cooked falafel with all the trimmings and enjoy it as its best.
Traditional Chickpea Falafel Pockets
Surely you have tasted, or maybe even prepared, one version of this classic falafel recipe. An intensive 24-hour soak makes the chickpeas properly soft, which gives a lovely moist yet light mixture that is easy to digest.
180 g/1 cup dried chickpeas/ garbanzo beans
80 g/2⁄3 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves
bunch of fresh parsley, leaves only
2 teaspoons ground coriander
½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda/ baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1⁄8 teaspoon chilli/chili powder
1½ teaspoons salt
230 ml/1 cup oil, for frying
SERVING SUGGESTION
4 pitta pockets
Tahini Sauce (see page 113)
raw vegetables (such as sliced tomatoes, cucumber, lettuce, radishes, parsley, spring onions/ scallions)
Makes 24–26 small falafels
Soak the chickpeas in plenty of water for 12 hours. Drain, discarding the water, cover with fresh water and let soak for another 12 hours. Drain, rinse well and let drain again for another 5 minutes.
It’s best to use a food processor fitted with an ‘S’ blade for blending the falafel mix, even though it can also be done in a good blender, in 2 batches.
First blend the drained chickpeas; the texture should resemble coarse sand. Add all the remaining ingredients (except the frying oil) and blend until you get a paste. Cover with clingfilm/plastic wrap and let sit in the fridge for 1 hour, or longer.
Roll into walnut-sized balls, wetting your hands once in a while to prevent sticking.
Deep-fry the falafels in hot oil for 4 minutes or until nicely browned (see tips page 9). Because we’re using soaked chickpeas, these falafels need to be deep-fried to make them digestible – baking them wouldn’t work.
Warm the pitta pockets, fill with vegetables of your choice, add falafel balls and serve with the tahini sauce. Yum!
Recipe reprinted with permission from Ryland Peters & Small.