FILAFEL – a delicious snak

 Falafel is the snack of Israel. It’s a delicious form of fast food that is much lighter and better for your heart than burgers and fries.Falafel is a traditionally Arab food that has been adopted by Israeli Jews.

INGREDIENTS

1 pound (about 2 cups) dry chickpeas/garbanzo beans
1 small onion, roughly chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
3-5 cloves garlic (I prefer roasted)
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
Vegetable oil for frying (grapeseed, canola, and peanut oil work well)
Servings: 30-34 falafels

Method :

Pour the chickpeas into a large bowl and cover them by about 3 inches of cold water. Let them soak overnight.

Drain and rinse the  beans well. 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. Process till the mixture is somewhere between the texture of couscous and a paste. You want the mixture to hold together, and a more paste-like consistency will help with that… but don’t overprocess, you don’t want it turning into fine paste.

Once done. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.

Note: Some people like to add baking soda to the mix to lighten up the texture inside of the falafel balls. I don’t usually add it, since the falafel is generally pretty fluffy on its own. If you would like to add it, dissolve 2 tsp of baking soda in 1 tbsp of water and mix it into the falafel mixture after it has been refrigerated.

Fill a deep pan with vegetable oil to a depth of 1 ½ inches.Heat the oil slowly over medium heat. Meanwhile, form falafel mixture into round balls. Use about 2 tbsp of mixture per falafel. You can make them smaller or larger depending on your personal preference. The balls will stick together loosely at first, but will bind nicely once they begin to fry.

Note: if the balls won’t hold together, place the mixture back in the processor again and continue processing to make it more paste-like. Keep in mind that the balls will be delicate at first; if you can get them into the hot oil, they will bind together and stick.

When the oil is at the right temperature, fry the falafels in batches of 5-6 at a time till golden brown on both sides.