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Mediteranian food can often be very inspiring. Falafel is flavourful arabic street-food with a strong hint of ground coriander and parsley. Usually it is dipped into sesame seeds after on both sides (after shaping), and then fried in deep oil (corn or sunflower oil).
I came up with this version of falafel a very long time ago and since then have kept using the same ingredients. The key ingredient is fresh green paprika that gives to it an specific taste together with garlic, that is as well the reason why it smells amazing while frying.
Usually falafel is served with lots of fresh salad next to tahini sauce, and tastes better with arabic thin bread. Personally I prefer ground over fresh coriander and use it in other dishes as well. For those who like extra spicy food some chilly flakes can be added into falafel mixture, or on top of fried falafel.
Falafel is very satisfying dish and it’s rich in proteins that come from chickpeas. It’s high in fibers due to paprika and psyllium. It contains healthy fats that come from from tahini. Frying on a non-stick frying pan with a small amount of oil makes it more healthy and easy to digest.
Recipe
Ingredients
Ingredients for the falafel:
- 200 gr of dried chickpeas, they should be soaked overnight in water;
- 1 extra large green fresh paprika, cut in 3-4 pieces;
- 1 green onion, chopped in 3-4 pieces;
- 1 onion, approx.100 gr, chopped in 4 pieces;
- 2 tbsp. of psyllium;
- 1 handful of finely chopped parsley;
- 2 cloves of garlic;
- 1/2 tsp. – 1 tsp. of salt;
- 1/2 tbsp. of ground coriander;
- 1/2 tbsp. of ground pepper;
- Some oil for frying on a non-stick frying pan.
Ingredients for the Garlic Tahini Sauce:
- 7 tbsp. of tahini;
- 1.5 dcl – 2 dcl of hot water;
- 1 extra large or 2 small cloves of garlic, finely chopped;
- juice of 1/2 large lemon or whole lime;
- 2 -3 tbsp. of fresh chopped parsley;
For garnishing:
- Lemon, cut in thin pieces;
- chopped parsley.
Preparation time
15 min.
Cooking time
35-40 min.
Servings
3
instructions
1. In a food-processor add chickpeas and pulse several times.
2. Add sliced green onion and paprika, pulse again.
3. Add onion, garlic and chopped parsley together with pepper, coriander and salt, and keep pulsing. Use spatula for moving sticky pieces from the inner edges down to knife of food-processor. Puls again until it becomes finely chopped and well mixed.
4. Take falafel mass out of the food-processor and add 2 tbsp. of psyllium. Stir until psyllium is well incorporated into falafel mass. Set aside, let it rest for 10 min.
5. Prepare Garlic Tahini Sauce by blending together all sauce ingredients until it becomes smooth. Pour into a serving bowl. Set aside.
6. Take falafel mass and stir well. Now start shaping falafels, placing them on a sheet of baking paper. *Tip for shaping: shape with wet hand palms. From this amount I got 11 middle-sized pieces of falafel.
7. Take a non-stick frying pan, warm up some oil and fry falafels on middle to high temperature, 5-8 min.on each side. I fried all 11 falafels in two batches.
Serving:
On a large serving plate place falafels around the small bowl of Tahini sauce. Add pieces of lemon next to each falafel.
Garnish with finely chopped parsley.
Serve with thin oriental bread (or pita bread), plantbased yoghurt, with lots of tomatoes, cucumbers, and onions.
