I love falafel, but it's a food I only discovered as an adult in my travels. I can't quite place my first taste of falafel, but several years ago my mother-in-law invited our family to Egypt, and one of my most vivid street food moments there was this man who fried up the most delicious falafel balls. In the market there was a special falafel spice mix that I bought, and I finally made my own falafel. I've since run out of this spice mix and created my own for this recipe.
Black Eva platter and handmade porcelain bowl, perfect for serving falafel!
Falafel ingredients:
2 cups chickpeas
1 onion, diced
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon coriander
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 teaspoon red chili powder
1 tablespoon flour
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
cooking oil as needed
Yogurt sauce:
1 cup greek yogurt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 garlic clove, minced
salt to taste
Soak the chickpeas in water overnight, cook them and then drain the water. Alternatively, you can also use canned chickpeas.
Grind the chickpeas with the onion, parsley and spices into a coarse mixture.
Add the flour and kneed in by hand to bind the mixture into a paste.
Heat up the cooking oil in a deep frying pan.
Wet your hands slightly to roll the falafel mixture into balls. There are special falafel spoons one can buy to make puck-shaped falafel, but I don't own one.
Once the oil is quite hot, place the falafel balls in the frying pan and cook them on all sides until crisp and browned. A deep fryer is ideal, and probably less messy, but I use a pan and a lot of oil.
Remove the balls from the pan and place on a paper towel to drain some of the oil.
To make the yogurt sauce, blend all the ingredients into a smooth mixture.
Serve the falafel hot with yogurt sauce or tahini on top.
My Eva platter is so versatile for serving different foods, and food contrasts so well on the matte black surface.
#lifestyleceramics #beautytexturewhimsy #simplepleasures #maiamingdesigns