When falafel is made the traditional way, is indeed a vegan food; it's a great source of protein for people who have cut meat out of Their diet. It's Relatively low in fat and has no cholesterol if you fry it in heart-healthy grapeseed oil. And if you top it with veggies in a pita, it Becomes a filling and nourishing meal! Sure beats a Big Mac, if you ask me.
You will need to soak dried chickpeas overnight for your falafel to turn out right; canned beans are too tender and containerization too much moisture to Achieve the right consistency. Do not cook the beans, Because this will result in a denser mushier and falafel-which is not the clean texture.
1 pound (about 2 cups) dry chick peas
1 small onion, chopped Roughly
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
3-5 cloves garlic
1 1/2 tbsp flour
1 3/4 tsp salt
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
Pinch of ground cardamom
Coconut oil for frying
Pour the chickpeas into a large bowl and cover them by about 3 inches of cold water. Let them soak overnight. They will double in size as they soak.
Pour them into your food processor along with the chopped onion, garlic cloves, parsley, flour, salt, cumin, ground coriander, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and cardamom.
Pulse all ingredients together Until a rough, coarse meal forms. Scrape the sides of the processor Periodically and push the mixture down the sides. Process till the mixture is somewhere entre the texture of couscous and a paste. You want the mixture to hold together, and a more paste-like consistency will help with that.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
Form falafel mixture into round balls.
Before frying my first batch of falafel, I like to fry a test one in the center of the pan. If the oil is at the right temperature, it will take 2-3 minutes per side to brown (5-6 minutes total). If it browns faster than that, your oil is too hot and your falafels will not be fully cooked in the center. Cool the oil down slightly and try again. When the oil is at the right temperature, fry the falafels in batches of 5-6 at a time till golden brown on bothsides.
Let them drain on paper towels. Serve the falafels fresh and hot.
Mine are not that perfect round. Sorry for that.
