MMMM, falafel....

We really love this homemade falafel thing. I made it for dinner on Monday (and last Monday, too...LOL!!) and I doubled the recipe and froze part of it to see how it turns out reheated. It only took a little more time and effort, so I hope it pays off.

We found some frozen falafel that we really loved and the grocery store stopped selling it. Then I tried a couple of boxed varieties that you just add water to. They weren't that great, so I decided to go for homemade. I turned to Allrecipes, and it didn't disappoint! I'm pretty bad about following a recipe, but not really following a recipe. It drives my husband batty because he fears I won't be able to duplicate it the next time around. I guess he thought it turned out, because he loved the falafel just as much the second time around!

Follow the link to the recipe I used. I don't make the yogurt, since the Costco variety tastes yummy!

Here are my eggs (remember, I doubled the recipe) with the cumin, (I omit the coriander) salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, lemon juice, and baking powder.


Here is the smashed chickpeas and olive oil with the onion, parsley, and garlic mixture. The recipe says to use a blender on the onion, parsley, and garlic, but my blender didn't do the trick. I tried my mini chopster (I don't have a full size food processor) instead and it worked great!


A close up of the onion, parsley, and garlic. I really let it go until it is super fine. No big chunks of onion in my falafel!


Chickpeas and onion mixture combined before adding bread crumbs. The chickpeas should probably be smashed up more, but I was in a hurry. It still tastes great, though!


A shot of the consistency after adding the bread crumbs. I didn't add enough the first time around and they fell apart while cooking.


Say hello to my little friends!! The recipe says to make 8 balls and then flatten them into patties. I personally like mine smaller since I make them into sandwiches. They also cook faster and are less likely to fall apart! I used a cookie scoop and I got 39 falafel balls.


Time to eat! We serve our falafel on Chapati bread. I buy the flour and just have to add water, knead, let sit 10 minutes, then roll it out and heat it in a hot cast iron skillet. We add hummus, tzatziki (from Costco), a squeeze of lemon juice, lettuce, tomato, and salt and pepper to taste! Yummy!!

It truly amazes me that Logan ate the whole thing up before I had even started eating mine!

Below is the slightly modified recipe.


Ingredients:

• 1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained
• 1 small onion, chopped (I didn't measure, but I would guess I used about 1/4 cup...this is measured BEFORE putting it in the chopper.)
  
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley
  
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 dash pepper
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup dry bread crumbs (Be sure to add these slowly. You don't want too much. I probably used about 3/4 cup)
  
• oil for frying

Directions:

1. In a large bowl mash chickpeas until thick and pasty; don't use a blender, as the consistency will be too thin. In a blender (a food processor would be great...I don't have one, so used my mini chopster), process onion, parsley and garlic until smooth. Stir into mashed chickpeas.
2. In a small bowl combine egg, cumin, salt, pepper, cayenne, lemon juice and baking powder. Stir into chickpea mixture along with olive oil. Slowly add bread crumbs until mixture is not sticky but will hold together; add more or less bread crumbs, as needed. Form 8 balls and then flatten into patties (I like mine smaller, so I would do more like 16 balls).
3. Heat 1 inch of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Fry patties in hot oil until brown on both sides.

Enjoy!!


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