Tuesday, 07 February 2012

• Falafels - Chickpea Patty

  This is a guest post by Teczcape. 
  
  These falafels were not perfect. Size. Irregularity.The falafel (recipe is from Food Network) actually tasted absolutely delicious. But I guess the limitation of a good deep-fry failed me. I had to shallow fry in my mini 6-inch shallow cast iron skillet. 
  
  Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups dried chickpeas, picked through and rinsed
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 small onion, coarsely chopped
  • 6 garlic cloves, smashed
  • 1 tablespoon cumin seeds, toasted and ground
  • 1 tablespoon coriander seeds, toasted and ground
  • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 2 handfuls fresh flat-leaf parsley, leaves coarsely chopped
  • 1 handful fresh cilantro, leaves coarsely chopped
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • Vegetable oil, for frying
  • 8 warm pita bread, store bought or homemade recipe follows
  • Tahini Sauce, recipe follows
  • Shredded lettuce, sliced tomatoes, chopped cucumbers

  Directions

  Put the dried chickpeas in a large bowl and add cool water to cover by 2 inches. Soak the beans in the refrigerator for at least 18 hours or up to 24; the chickpeas will swell to triple their original size. Drain and rinse thoroughly.

  Put the soaked chickpeas in a food processor and pulse to coarsely grind, not until smooth but with no whole chickpeas remaining either. Add the baking powder, onion, garlic, spices, and herbs; process until the mixture is pureed; scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate while heating the oil, this should take about 15 minutes.

  Pour 3-inches of the oil in a deep fryer or deep heavy pot and heat to 375 degrees F.

  Roll the falafel mixture into ping-pong size balls. (Alternatively, use an ice cream scoop.) Carefully slip a few at a time into the hot oil, making sure they don't stick to the bottom. Fry until the chickpea fritters are a crusty dark brown on all sides, turning as needed, about 5 minutes per batch. Remove the falafels with a slotted spoon and drain on a platter lined with paper towels.

  Open the pita bread halves to make pockets (don't split all the way) and put 4 fried falafels into each. Drizzle with the tahini sauce and layer with lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers. Serve immediately.

  Do you like falafels? Do you usually make them from scratch or buy them? 

  
  

  • 9:55 AM
  • 611 Views
  • 4 eProps
  • 2 Comments