Preparing falafels is really very easy,
and it is practically impossible to make mistakes.
You can serve them as a finger food appetizer
or as a main course together with a side dish of vegetables.
Don’t forget, however, to accompany them with a light sauce
like the more traditional yogurt and mint sauce that enriches
every morsel with taste and freshness.
It’s a simple dish with a delicate taste that
children generally like very much too.
What are falafel and hummus?
Falafel is a food of vegetable origin. In short,
it’s a meatball made from chopped, spiced, salted, breaded,
and fried raw beans or chickpeas.
Falafel is of Middle Eastern origin.
They are gradually reaching all Western nations,
where they are enjoying considerable success
among vegan and vegetarian consumers.
They are generally accompanied by other typical recipes.
Hummus is best known as Israel’s national dish.
It is used as a sort of “spreadable cream” to accompany
unleavened bread or Arab bread (Pita) and falafel.
Hummus is also a typical ingredient of shwarma
(usual street sandwich of the Middle East)
and is frequently used as an appetizer with raw vegetables.
How To Make Falafel:
Chickpeas are the main ingredient of this food.
The mistake of many, however, is to use cooked chickpeas.
In reality, to make excellent falafel, you only need to use
dried chickpeas soaked for 24 hours in water.
This way, you’ll get the ideal consistency,
and your meatballs won’t crackle during cooking.
You must remember that in the 24 hours
of soaking, the water must be changed twice.
Ingredients for 4 people:
- 2 cups of dried chickpeas
- 1/3 cup chopped parsley
- 1/2 cup chopped coriander
- 1/2 small onion
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 spoon of sesame seeds
- 1 teaspoon cumin spice
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- Salt, black pepper, breadcrumbs
- Oil for frying
Rinse the chickpeas, drain them and put them in a bowl.
Dry them thoroughly with absorbent paper
before putting them in the mixer.
Add the garlic, chopped onion, parsley, coriander,
and finally, all the other spices.
Now you have to salt the mixture and add a pinch of pepper.
Finally, put a handful of breadcrumbs.
Chop everything until the mixture has reached a homogeneous
consistency and quite dry and compact to the touch.
Let the mixture rest for about an hour.
Heat the oil, it must not boil.
Now add the bicarbonate of soda.
Make small balls and fry them in oil.
They must turn brown.
Serve the falafel hot!