Falafel Nuggets

Falafel Recipe Step by Step – A snack from the Middle East, made with chickpeas, which offers a contrast of textures and a bunch of mild flavors, is falafel. It can be deep-fring, shallow fried or pan-fried. Falafels can also be baked. Falafels are very popular across the globe. The reasons being very obvious. falafel is gluten-free, easy to make, healthy and absolutely delish. Although from the Middle Eastern cuisine, the flavors are very much Indian. Falafel can be tricky at times. The most critical part of the process of how to make falafel at home is to get the consistency of the falafel mixture correct. Falafel can be served with hummus or tahini sauce. Falafel and hummus make a great snack. Also, falafel can be served in the pita bread along with some salad, etc. You can also make falafel nuggets and serve as a party appetizer.

How to make Falafel at home? Required Ingredients:

Falafel recipe Indian calls for

Chickpeas: Dry chickpeas should be soaked and used to make falafel. Canned chickpeas do not make good falafels.

Herbs and spices: Onion and garlic are used to flavor falafels. Cardamom is used a lot in Middle East cuisine. Cumin, black pepper, etc have also been used. I have not used any red chili powder. However, you can use the same.

Flour: Flour is used to give a binding to the falafel mixture. All-purpose flour can be used. However, to keep the recipe gluten-free, I have used chickpea flour and it worked well.

Oil: As already mentioned, falafel can be deep-frying, shallow frying or pan-fried. The best practice is to shallow fry the falafel with oil level up to half of the falafel.

Tips and tricks to make the best falafel:

Perfect falafel should be crisp and crunchy from the outside and light and fluffy from the inside. It should have subtle and well-balanced flavors. In order to make perfect falafel, the following should be remembered:

1. Use dry chickpeas and soak them for at least 8-10 hours. Do not use canned chickpeas to make falafel.
2. Grind the mixture to the correct consistency. This is the key to perfect falafels. The mixture should not be too smooth neither it should be too coarse. A coarse mixture will be lacking binding and would disintegrate while frying. A smooth mixture will lose texture.
3. Taste the mixture and adjust the seasoning before proceeding with shaping falafels.
4. Little baking soda is added to the falafel mixture. This makes the falafel more fluffy.
5. Always fry a small ball of falafel mixture to ensure that it is getting cooked properly and not falling apart.
6. If the falafel disintegrates while frying, add in more gram flour or give it one or two pulses in the grinder.
7. Fry falafel on a low to medium heat. On high heat, falafel will get cooked from the outside and will remain undercooked from the inside.

Possible variations in Falafel:

Sesame Falafel Recipe: If you are a fan of the nutty flavor of sesame seeds, you can easily add this flavor to your falafels. To do that, just add in a little sesame paste in the mixture. After shaping the falafels, either coat these in sesame seeds or sprinkle a few seeds on it.

Herbed Falafel: Add in more of the green herbs. You can also include parsley, cilantro, etc.

Egyptian Falafel: This recipe used fava beans to make falafels. You can also use a combination of fava beans and chickpeas.

Falafel Recipe Indian: Well to make this you can add in the ginger, red chili powder, turmeric powder, and vegetables, etc.

How to serve Falafel?

Falafel can be stuffed in pita bread. The pita bread should be cut into half. Open it to make a pocket for falafel. Falafels should be stuffed in the pita bread along with add-ons such as hummus, onions, lettuce, tomatoes, etc. Or falafel can be served as a snack with tahini sauce or hummus. Also with a simple green chutney or ketchup. Falafel can also be used to make rolls by wrapping up in roti or paratha along with little dip and some salad.

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