Recipe- Deep Fried Vegetarian Falafel

Falafel is a deep fried vegan or vegetarian, gluten free fritter or patty which is crispy on the outside, light and tender, and flavorful inside prepared using chickpeas, fresh herbs, and spices.

One of the popular, traditional food recipe using chickpeas from Mediterranean, and Middle East cooking. This is now become one of the best alternative to meat-based street food for vegetarians and vegans.

Ingredients

1 cup Chickpeas or Garbanzo, dried
1 Onion, roughly chopped, medium sized
5 Garlic cloves
1/2 cup Cilantro or Coriander leaves, roughly chopped
1 1/2 cup Parsley, roughly chopped
1/4 tsp Cumin seeds
1/2 tsp Coriander seeds
5 Black peppercorns or approximately 1/4 tsp pepper powder
1/2 tsp Red chile powder or Cayenne powder
1 1/2 tsp Salt, adjust to taste
2 tbsp Sesame seeds (optional)
2 tbsp Chickpea flour or all purpose flour (optional, check tips)
Oil for frying

Method

* Pour the chickpeas in large container with cold water and let it soak overnight. See that it’s properly covered in water. They will double or triple in size as they soak.

* Drain and rinse the chickpeas.

* Add chickpeas into food processor or blender or chopper (any preferred appliance) and coarsely grind. Do not add any water during this process. Transfer this to a bowl.

* Grind onions, garlic, cilantro, parsley, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, peppercorns, red chile powder, and salt in the food processor scraping down the sides as necessary until the mixture is finely ground. Transfer this to the same bowl of coarsely ground chickpeas.

* Now mix all the ingredients along with sesame seeds and knead it with your hand to get dough-like texture that is similar to coarse sand. That is, it should hold together when pressed with your hands. If dough is too dry you can splash some water and knead. If it is too wet, add chickpea flour or all purpose flour. (check tips)

* Cover the dough and refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour before frying.

* Heat oil in pan on medium flame for frying.

* Divide the mixture into 20 equal portions and with your moistened hands shape them into balls or patties. (check tips)

* Cook the falafel on medium flame, in batches, till they are crispy and golden brown all over. This might take about 5 to 6 minutes.

* Transfer the fried falafels to a paper towel to absorb any excess oil.

* Falafel is now ready. Serve and enjoy.