Just had a go at making a version of this....

seemed very soft in the middle... did I make it correctly?

I added 1 tin chickpeas, 1 onion, 1 chili, tsp cumin, tsp corriander, 1/2 tsp blackpepper, 1/2 ginger powder, 1/2 cinnamon powder and a handful of fresh corriander leaves -then pur?ed it all.

Left it in the fridge for a while and then attempted to make ball shapes finding I couldn't make them and stand them on something as they were too soft so just made a test ball and put it in the oil.

It cooked and without moving it about, it simply fell to bits and ended up as little black bits in the oil !

So I added 1 slice of bread (and pur?ed it in) which didn't help, added another slice of bread, still didn't help...

Eventually added an egg just so there was something to make it stiffen up when it hit the oil. This worked but still left the centre like a soft pur?e.

Steve

i;m just going to dig out my failsafe recipe - give me half an hour!

liza

is it idiot proof?...ha ha

thanks Steve

OK Steve, heregoes:

9oz dried chick peas, soaked 24 hours (if using tinned, I think this would equate to 2 tins, but don't hold me to it!)

2 eggs

1 heaped tsp baking powder

2 tsp paprika

1 tsp salt (or according to taste)

2 flakes garlic crushed

2 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp ground cumin

4 tsp ground coriander

1 flat tsp black pepper

1 large onion chopped fine (do not grate or chop too fine as it sheds water)

1 heaped tbsp mixture of fresh coriander and parsley

2 de-seeded green chillies

1 tbsp self raising flour, only if necessary ? see below.

Drain chickpeas thoroughly ? wipe them over with kitchen towel

Mince chickpeas on their own, but take care to maintain a coarse texture - you don?t want them pureed!

Beat eggs in a large mixing bowl and add remaining ingredients

Add chickpeas, mix to a soft mass which holds its shape when squeezed together

Add a little plain flour as necessary to achieve this

FELAFEL CAN BECOME TOO DRY. THE FINAL MIXTURE SHOULD BE FAIRLY WET & JUST ABLE TO BIND TOGETHER DON?T ADD TOO MUCH FLOUR.

Taste at this stage, to adjust salt and spices

Using fingers, shape into round 1? patties ? mustn?t be too smooth, leave it rustic

Deep fry in hot oil until rich golden brown

Like bhajias, falafel must fry approx 3 min, turning them over for a further 3 min, otherwise the insides will be raw.

Drain well

Put the hot felefal balls into hot pitta bread, hummus and fresh lettuce, onion rings & cucumber slices

A dollop of greek yogurt goes well too, I?m told, but I like mine with a dollop of ketchup!

hey Liza

Thanks! I LOVE felafel, so I'm going to have a go at that!

Ketchup instead of yoghurt? Sacrilege!

Phil

Here is my recipe, which is a bit different from the others.

1 1/2 c. dried chickpeas - soaked overnight in water. Drain the chickpeas and put into a food processor. Add 1 diced onion, 2 Table. chopped fresh parsley, 1 Table. flour, 2 tsp. minced garlic, 2 tsp. ground coriander, 1 tsp. ground cumin, 1 tsp. salt (or as needed), 1/4 tsp. cayenne powder and 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper. Puree. Put into a large mixing bowl and let it sit in the fridge for a good 30 minutes to firm up. Remove from the fridge and stir in 2 Table. sesame seeds and 1/2 tsp. baking soda. Make into golf-size balls and then flatten them somewhat before deep frying in oil until brown and crisp. Serve in pita sandwiches or eat plain with a salad.

If serving as a sandwich then put 3 small patties into 1/2 of a pita bread. Top with the following mixed vegetable salad, and then some garlic yogurt.

To make the garlic yogurt put 1-2 c. yogurt into a serving bowl. Beat with a spoon to smooth out the mixture. Add a couple of Table. of water at a time, to thin out the yogurt sauce until the desired consistancy is reached. Add garlic powder and salt to taste and mix well. This sauce tastes good if it has a fairly strong garlic taste.

TO make the mixed vegetable salad, peel two cucumbers, remove seeds and dice into small pieces. Dice two tomatoes, and add to the cucumber. Add a little minced cilantro (or parsley), salt, pepper, and a dash of lemon juice.

quote "(do not grate or chop too fine as it sheds water)"

I think this was the problem with mine, as I put the lot in a bowl and pur?ed it all.

Next time I'll do the onions by hand and see what difference it makes.

Steve

Just been searching for recipes for Falafel and there are a lot of different versions, it appears each country, each area, each household, each cook/chef has their own version... you can just about use any spices/herbs and mix in almost anything....

so can I ask what "falafel" is?... is it a vegetarian alternative to meat?.. is it a healthy burger?.. a type of fried pulse?...

What I really want to know is what is it supposed to be as a basic bottom line?... If I went to 10 different countries and went to 50 different houses, caf?s, restaurants etc what would be the common theme behind falafel??.. what is hits history ?.......

Steve (the ever curious)

Made it again on sunday (we were having a BBQ and only had one lot of meat, so I filled it out with other bits and bobs..)..

This time I only pur?ed the chickpeas and they were much (much much) thicker without the onions in (in fact my blender was struggling to get through it)

I added some yoghurt and was going to add a spoon or so of flour instead of slice of bread but forgot... (this might be the reason it all fell apart in the hot oil when trying to fry it...)

so again I had to add an egg to bind it....

(however I noticed some recipes don't have the bread or eggs in them.. so is it something I'm doing wrong ?)

Steve

Ps they also seem to be very dry almost over cooked like a crunchy shell on the outside .. is this correct?..

(I've never seen or eaten falafel anywhere else so I don't know what they should end up like)

Since no one has answered you, I will say that I can't really tell you much about them. I make them about once a year and have never had any trouble with dryness. They are usually made out of chickpeas, but I have also seen them made out of fava (? I think that is the word) beans, although you have to shell the beans for that, so it would be more work. I have never put an egg in my recipe to bind it, as my husband doesn't like to eat things with eggs.

I've only tired twice now but both time when I put the ball into the hot oil it simply cooked away into bits. I then added an egg to bind it (but as I said I didn't add a slice of bread or flour to the mix).

is the oil to cool?..too hot?... something else?

I will try my recipe again and see what is wrong! May be I forgot to write down a step! But I will only try them once kavey has got me a new camera, so I can take pictures!

Mamta

Its more than likely something I'm doing...

I had my first go at felafel.

What a disaster! I put in too much parsley and corainder leaf. result: green felafels. The puree was rather like our (excellent, if I may say so) guacamole, but with chickpeas added. Tasted great, though.

Then I added too much water, because I felt it was just TOO rough in texture. Result: I had to add FAR too much flour to thicken it up, and even then, I could only make them as flat paratha-like things, since they wouldn't hold together as meatball-type things. They also tasted mostly of flour.

Never mind: I know where I went wrong, and my 7-year old daughter loved them!

They'll be better next time. We served them with merguez and harissa, with a side salad.

Phil

LOL! That is funny Phil, sounds like my kitchen on some days, a disaster zone! The recipe should be okay, because I tried and made a few adjustments and it worked beautifully. Unfortunately still no camera, so no pictures.

Phil You made me laugh so much!!

I am going to try out my recipe again in the next week or so, just to see if it works for me, and I shall report back.

Does the word Falafel mean anything?

In as much as does is mean "flat disk" or "small ball" or anything like that, so techinically speaking if its not a certain shape its not falafel ?

Hey guys: felafel, take 3.

I had a third go this morning with my grown-up daughter, who told me that I was putting far too much flour on the chopping board, instead of just dusting them. She's SUCH a nag, but I think she was right. They were nice.

They're STILL not the right texture to make balls out of, so we did flat patties.

Here are my problems:

1. Why baking powder? That's a raising agent, right? Not a binding agent.

(I rang my brother in Edinburgh: he says to use CORNflour, not ordinary flour, as a binding agent; it's thicker, apparently)

My bossy elder daughter says to use bread crumbs.

Any comments?

I'm still not happy with them. Everyone here says I'm moaning about nothing, but a ball is a ball is a ball, and these ain't balls.

2. When I try to grind/blend the ingredients, I'm faced with the following dilemma:

I want it rough, not pureed. But I don't want it so rough that there are whole chickpeas and whole chunks of onion and garlic in it.

To get it to blend better, I need to add water.

But the addition of water makes it too watery.

All advice gratefully accepted.

Phil

Good for you Phil for persevering!

?I had a third go this morning with my grown-up daughter, who told me that I was putting far too much flour on the chopping board, instead of just dusting them. She's SUCH a nag, but I think she was right. They were nice.?

Your nagging daughter is right, too much flour will make them burn on the outside too fast, before inside is cooked. Mind you, there is nothing inside that requires much cooking ;-)! Anyway, I do not use flour, I make them with greased palms/fingers.

?They're STILL not the right texture to make balls out of, so we did flat patties.?

You don?t have to make balls. You can drop dollops of 1 tbs. each. They are pretty round and tasty

?Why baking powder? That's a raising agent, right? Not a binding agent.?

I put baking powder to make them light and not hard. You don?t have to add it.

?My bossy elder daughter says to use bread crumbs. Any comments??

I am beginning to like your bossy daughter :-)! My original recipe said a slice of bread, soaked. This made them too runny and difficult to handle. So, my current recipe says bread crumbs! You didn?t notice that, did you? I changed it last time I posted on this thread, see 23/4/2007.

?I'm still not happy with them. Everyone here says I'm moaning about nothing, but a ball is a ball is a ball, and these ain't balls.?

Yes, a ball is a ball is ball! LOL!

?2. When I try to grind/blend the ingredients, I'm faced with the following dilemma: I want it rough, not pureed. But I don't want it so rough that there are whole chickpeas and whole chunks of onion and garlic in it. To get it to blend better, I need to add water. But the addition of water makes it too watery. LOL!!

Use a chopper instead of a blender! GOD, my stomach is hurting! LOL!!

Mamta

I bought some frozen falafel from local supermarket so I can see what they are like, so I have some idea of what I'm aiming at...

not opened them yet but at some point I'll be doing my third attempt as well lol

Good, we look forward to your report.

The camera that Kavey ordered for me has arrived. Now I only have to work out how it works and will be able to take pictures of the next felafels I make!! I am not a technically minded person.

The last week of the digital photography course went mostly above my head! I have to say that in my entire life, I never felt so daft, found any course so difficult to keep track of, considering I have been on sme really tough ones in my life. Compared to all the other youngsters on the course, I felt so dumb! I might just miss the last 2 lessons, it is just too hard for me!

Sounds like your teacher is the problem not you ! If you are struggling to follow then they aren't leading properly!

just wanted to comment about making felafel (from someone who has been making them for many years) ...

*usually one uses soaked (dried) chickpeas, never cooked canned ones. depending up which country one comes, fava beans may be also used;

*eggs are not used

*one can add chickpea flour or AP or wholewheat (meal) flour as a binder.

*the felafel balls should be cooked inside and not pasty, ever. they will be an orangey colour perhaps with a tint of green if herbs such as parsely are used.

*the mixture needs to rest and be cold when you make the balls. they are made by wetting ones hands and shaping small balls. large ones will NOT cook properly. they should be the size of a small walnut shell.

here is a recipe to try:

2 cups dried chickpeas [garbanzo beans], soaked in water and covered overnight

1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onion

3 cloves peeled & crushed garlic

1/2 cup sesame seeds

1/4 cup finely chopped parsley

1/4 tablespoon kosher salt

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons ground coriander

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Oil, for deep-frying

Soak chickpeas in water overnight.

Run chickpeas through food processor. Blend in yellow onion, garlic, sesame seeds parsley, salt, cumin baking powder, coriander, black pepper, and cayenne pepper, and let stand for 1 hour.

Form into balls about 1" in diameter. Deep fry in oil until golden brown. This takes approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Serve in a pita bread and fill with lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, and onions. hot peppers and tehina sauce is the usual dressing.

i hope this helps. as we say in hebrew, "b'teyavon"! bon appetit :D

this quantity makes a lot (family sized). you can halve the above recipe or make the whole thing. if you do, they freeze very well. just reheat in the oven at 350 until crispy, about 12 to 15 minutes. its worth the work :)

How hot do you have the oil? (if I deep fried anything for 5 minutes there would be nothing left!) I presume its on a lower heat ?

Thanks

Steve (thats me signing my name, not saying thanks to you Steven... :-) )

LOL...i guess steve and steven is a cause for confusion :D

as for the temperature for deep frying them, the normal temp is always 375F -- not too hot, not too cold. always check with a thermometer but if you don't have one, use medium heat and after about 7 to 10 minutes of heating, drop in a small piece of dough. if it floats and starts to fry, it's ready. hope that helps.

this is a very useful website/page for deepfrying: http://www.culinary-yours.com/frying_oil.html

hope that helps :)

Good luck, Steve: let us know how it went.

Thanks, Mamta, for your comments. Yes, I missed the breadcrumbs thing.

Will try again, without the help of the bossy elder daughter, who has now flown back to the UK.

Phil

When I get around to it again I will be posting up how it went... (whatever the outcome.. LOL)

Steve not Steven, but I actually am a Steven but not that one ^ lol

Can this Steve/Steven be any more confusig! LOL!!

Maybe we should rename our longer term Steve as AskSteve!?

LOL

AskSteve would then be confusing if Steven knew I might know the answer so Steven might want to ask askSteve for the answer.... lol

and if some one else was saying that they will ask AskSteve to ask Steven about ..... lol

Me - no longer sure who I am....

I think everyone is going nutters here!

just had the shop bought falafel and they are very similar in texture to the ones I made (flavour wasn't though.. tasted a bit like a spicy thing fried in very old over used fat, but thats mass production for you)....

at least I have some idea as to what they should be like now....

So at somepoint I will be attempting again...

Steve

I had some fantastic falafels at a Lebanese restaurant in Oxford yesterday. Very tasty.

Its odd how Lebanon have falafel everywhere yet Cyprus which is very near doesn't have it (well if they do have it, they don't mention it and I've never seen it in a restaurant or recipe book)...

It's interesting that some things are not as wide-spread as one woulds expect. Friends living in Mainland Greece (the very southernmost part) served humous to their local Greek friends. They said they'd never heard of it, and found it disgusting!

Phil

WOW ! I've seen it all over the place and on many many cookery/travel programmes, must be from a small part void of houmous... but yes it is surprising how different food can be in such a small area....

I suppose when you think about it, even in a tiny country like the UK, look at jellied eels in the South compared to deep fried (insert any food stuff here) in the North....

Hi Steve,

Regional cookery is really interesting, since it often doesn't correspond exactly to the notion of 'national' culinary traditions.

Still, there does seem to be a notion of Indian cookery, despite huge regional variations. Except that what we call 'Indian' cookery extends beyond what we now call 'India'.

So, there's such a thing as (for example) Greek, or Indian, or French, or Spanish food, but those subsume regional variations which overlap with the cookery of other areas we call 'nations'. Greek and Turkish cuisine is a good example. The same is ture for certain kinds of Greek and Turkish music.

I think that this tells us something about human beings and their cultural practices.

Phil

This is getting deep considering it started off at the humble Falafel !

I agree food/culture/people/music/lifestyle are all wonderfully entwined and cross over and loop onto to the neighbours (be it locally, nationally etc)...

We could go on forever more about how similar foods from one country are to another, or how one culture has the same foods as another (and I'd love to ... lol)

I have actually just been saying to my wife about how when we visited Turkey a good few years ago our perception was the food was terrible.

(I will have to fill in a few details for this to make sense.)

It was our first family holiday to anywhere futher away than England, I personally had been to Belgium and Holland as a child but never to the exotic lands further on. So you can imagine we were a bit green about what to do and what to book (etc etc) so we ended up going all inclusive to one of the main lively resorts in Turkey but we didn't really know thats what we had done until arriving there... (as I said we were a bit green) (long story short, come on Steve get on with it)..So it meant all our meals were in the hotel (all inclusive) and they served what we now jokingly refer to as "international slop". This is done in many multicultural hotels but usually done a lot better.

As an outcome of this we ended up using our spending money to eat away from the hotel in local caf?'s that were aimed at the "brits abroad" brigade (you know those that only want fish and chips, lager like they get at home and bacon and egg with proper brown sauce etc). We endured this as the hotel food was making us seriously ill, so we came home thinking Turkey was a beautiful country, the people so warm and friendly but the food was unidentifiable and dangerous....

Since coming home I have now seen that Turkish food is very similar in many dishes to Greek food (some are exactly the same using the same names)... so maybe we need to go back one year to repair that bad memory...

Steve

Did anybody see Ready Steady Cook today? I just saw the end of it when Nick Nairn (who usually seems to do everything perfectly) had a cooking disaster with the falafel he was making. They just fell apart in the oil! I was reminded straight away of your amusing stories in this thread.

The baby was crying so I didn't quite catch why it all went wrong, but he did say something about the oil not being hot enough, there not being any sesame paste to stick them together and I think he said something about he shouldn't have added bread crumbs. Anyway, they were all joking that it looked like hamster food!

maybe try pureeing some of the chick peas and separately blending the remainder to a coarser texture. then mix the two together.

If all else fails, Tesco & Sainsbury's both have a "kosher" section which sell felafel packet mix - JUST ADD WATER. They have never failed me yet. But what I like to do to the end mixture is add a little fresh chopped onion and coriander. It just livens it up a bit.

Do let me know how it turns out.

The ones I made come out quite well. I had to adjust my recipe quite a bit, but the end result was veryt light, crisp on the outside felafels. I have updated the rceipe on this site, if all else fails!

Mamta

I've still got to get around to trying it again...

did make my own version of houmous the other day but didn't get chance to upload or right up due to computer going up the swanny...

Steve

Hello Steve

Mine is also driving me nuts, computer that is!

Mamta

Guys try adding moon daal to the receipe - 2 cups of that to 1 cup chick peas - trust me the receipe is much much softer as I find chick peas make the whole thing dry!..

Soak everything overnight, drain and blend - not much need for water..then go mad with the additions - blk pepper, salt, blened green chillies, garlic, and ginger, and add chopped coriander, baking powder.

Serve it with mint yogurt or tomato and garlic spicy chutney!

These sound like Moong dal Pakoras. Scroll down the page until you get to the Notes section of the recipe.

Mamta

I had yet another go, this time soaking dried chickpeas overnight, instead of using soft ones in a jar. Some recipes say 24 hrs, some say 20 hrs, some say overnight, but I found that 15 hours or so meant that they weren't to soft.

I also deep-fried this time, which is much better. At first, the balls were too big, and then when I made smaller ones, the oil was too hot, so they were too dark on the outside and not properly cooked on the inside.

But once I got the heat down on the hot oil, it worked out alright. My kids love them and keep asking for them.

Now on to the yoghurt sauce!

Phil