Falafel are a Middle Eastern pattie made from chickpeas and are perfect for a delicious and satisfying snack that is suitable for Veggies and Vegans. They are absolutely perfect when paired with Houmous, a dip that is also made from chickpeas and are brilliant for lunches, popping into pittas or taking on picnics. They’re also incredibly satisfying to make! All you need to do is make sure that you have a food processor to make your life infinitely easier.
Falafel with Houmous
Print RecipeIngredients
- For the Falafel:
- 400g Chickpeas, tinned
- 1 x Onion
- 4 x Garlic Cloves
- 1 x Red Chilli
- Bunch of Fresh Parsley
- Bunch of Fresh Coriander
- Zest of a Lemon
- ½ Tsp Ground Cumin
- 1 Tsp Salt
- 1 Tsp Pepper
- 4 Tbsp Gram Flour
- 1 Tsp Baking Powder
- Sunflower Oil (for Frying)
- For the Houmous:
- 400g Chickpeas, tinned
- 150g Tahini
- 1 x Lemon (Zest and Juice)
- 8 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 8 x Garlic Cloves
- 1 Tsp Sea Salt
Instructions
Firstly, for the Houmous, drain, rinse and dry the can of Chickpeas. Place into a food processor and pulse them a few times.
Add in the tahini, lemon juice and zest, extra virgin olive oil, garlic (peeled and whole), and the salt.
Blitz everything on a high speed until it becomes smooth and creamy. Place into a bowl and place in the fridge for later.
Now, for the Falafel, rinse, drain and dry the Chickpeas as you did before, then place into the food processor. Blitz a few times so the chickpeas are fairly fine but with some texture. Place into a bowl and put to one side.
Roughly chop the onion, chilli and peel the garlic and place into the food processor along with a good handful of coriander and parsley. Blitz into a fine paste and place into the bowl along with the chickpeas.
Add the gram flour, lemon zest, ground cumin, salt and pepper and mix together with your hands until everything is combined but can be moulded into balls. If it's too wet, then add more gram flour.
Over a medium-high heat, bring around 5 - 6cm of sunflower oil up to roughly 170°C.
While the oil is heating up, add in the baking powder to the mixture, and then roll the mixture into Falafel shapes of around the size of table tennis balls.
Gently place into the oil and fry for around 3 - 4 minutes until lovely golden brown all over, turning occasionally.
Place onto a plate with kitchen towel to drain off the excess oil and leave to cool before serving with the Houmous and a nice warm pitta bread.
