Lebanese Falafel Recipe
This Lebanese falafel is crispy outside and fluffy inside, made with soaked dried chickpeas and a lot of fresh parsley and coriander. You can deep fry, pan fry or bake them, and the mixture freezes well.
Servings: 20 falafels
Calories: 97kcal
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried chickpeas (200 g) soaked overnight with the bicarbonate of soda, never canned
- 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda for the soaking water
- 1 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves roughly chopped
- 1 cup fresh coriander leaves roughly chopped
- 1 small onion roughly chopped
- 1 green chili
- 3 cloves garlic
- ¼ cup chickpea flour (gram flour) (21 g)
- 1 lemon zested and juiced
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon flaked chili (pul biber)
- ½ teaspoon coriander powder
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ cup vegetable, canola or sunflower oil (120 ml) for pan frying, or enough for 3 inches (8 cm) to deep fry
Instructions
Soak the Chickpeas
- Start this a day ahead. Put the dried chickpeas in a large bowl, add the bicarbonate of soda, and cover them with plenty of cold water.
- Leave the bowl at room temperature overnight, until the chickpeas have tripled in size. You can leave them for up to 2 days, changing the water halfway through.
- Drain the chickpeas and rinse them under running water. Dry them well before you grind them.
Prepare the Mixture
- Put the soaked chickpeas, parsley, coriander, onion, green chili and garlic into a food processor, along with the lemon zest and juice, salt, black pepper, cumin, coriander powder, chickpea flour, baking powder and flaked chili.
- Pulse the mixture until it looks like coarse sand. Do not run the processor until it turns into a paste, or the falafels will come out heavy.
- Tip the mixture into a bowl and stir it through. Cover it and chill it in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
Shape the Falafels
- Scoop golf ball sized amounts of the chilled mixture. Shape them into balls for deep frying, or into flat patties for pan frying and baking.
- Use a spoon or a scoop rather than pressing them tight in your hands. Do not flatten the patties too much if you want them fluffy inside.
- Set the shaped falafels aside and carry on with the cooking method you want.
Pan Fry the Falafels
- Shape the mixture into patties for pan frying.
- Put a heavy based pan or a skillet over medium heat and add ½ cup (120 ml) of oil.
- When the oil is hot, add the falafels without crowding the pan.
- Fry them for a few minutes on each side, until they are golden brown and crisp outside.
- Lift them onto a paper towel lined plate to drain, and serve them warm.
Deep Fry the Falafels
- Falafel is deep fried in Lebanon, and this is the method I use most. Shape the mixture into balls or patties.
- Put a heavy based pan over medium heat and fill it with 3 inches (8 cm) of vegetable, canola or sunflower oil.
- When the oil reaches 356° F (180° C), lower the falafels in with a slotted spoon. Do not crowd the pan, because the oil temperature will drop and they will fall apart.
- Fry them for 3 to 4 minutes, until they are golden brown and crisp.
- Lift them out with a slotted spoon onto a paper towel lined plate, and serve them warm.
Oven Bake the Falafels
- Shape the mixture into patties for baking.
- Heat the oven to 425° F (220° C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray it lightly with oil.
- Put the patties on the paper and brush them generously with oil, preferably olive oil.
- Bake them for 20 to 25 minutes, turning them over halfway, until they are golden on both sides.
- Baked falafels come out drier and firmer than fried ones. I serve those with extra tahini sauce.
Air Fry the Falafels
- Shape the mixture into patties for the air fryer, the same as you would for baking.
- Set the air fryer to 400° F (205° C) and brush the patties lightly with oil.
- Cook them for 12 to 15 minutes, turning them over halfway, until they are golden brown and crisp outside.
Video
Notes
- Use dried chickpeas that you have soaked, never canned or cooked ones. Cooked chickpeas have already used up the starch that binds the mixture, and it will fall apart in the oil.
- Add a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda to the soaking water. It softens the chickpeas and helps them set properly when they fry.
- Soak the chickpeas at room temperature rather than in the fridge, and give them a full 24 hours if you can.
- Drain and dry the chickpeas well. Wet chickpeas make a wet mixture.
- Pulse to coarse sand, not to a paste. If you grind it to a paste the falafels come out heavy.
- There is a lot of herb and lemon juice in this mixture, and the chickpea flour absorbs it. Chickpea flour takes up nearly three times as much water as all-purpose flour, so you only need a small amount.
- Chill the falafel mixture for at least an hour before you shape it. It makes shaping much easier.
- Shape them with a spoon or a scoop instead of rolling them tight in your hands.
- Do not crowd the pan. Too many at once drops the oil temperature and the falafels break up.
- To make them ahead, fry them for half the time until they are pale and set, then cool and freeze them. Finish them in hot oil straight from frozen.
Nutrition
Calories: 97kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Sodium: 191mg | Potassium: 139mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 332IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 23mg | Iron: 1mg