Falafel In Pita Recipe

This recipe will make enough falafel-balls to serve six. I usually make a batch and freeze the rest, so when I feel like falafel, I just get them out and pop them in the deep-fryer directly.

* 450 grams of dried chickpeas

* 750 ml water

* 1 small onion, diced

* 2 cloves of garlic, pressed

* 15 grams of fresh coriander, chopped up

* 15 grams of fresh parsley, chopped up

* 2 teaspoons of ground cumin seeds

* 1 tablespoon of water ‘extra’

* 0.5 teaspoon baking powder

* [12 large pita’s]

* Food processor

* Deep fryer or pan that can double for it filled with vegetable oil.

* Skimmer

* Paper towels

1. Soak the chickpeas in the water for the minimum on the package (ca. 4 hours), or the entire day/night. Then pour the water away, and rinse carefully. Then ground for 30 seconds in the food processor.

2. Add the onion, garlic, parsley, coriander, cumin, ‘extra’ water and baking powder, and mix everything in ca. 10 seconds until you have a sticky ‘paste’. Don’t make it too fine, a little bite is nice, you’re not making a sauce or hummus! Check if everything is mixed well, or do that manually. Then let it sit for 30 minutes.

3. If you have a falafel-maker, use it to create your ‘balls’. I’m so glad I bought that one! But you can use your hands to make your balls, a bit flattened works the best in pita. You should use a good full tablespoon for one ball. Try and keep your hands/falafel-maker a bit moist, so it won’t stick. Heat the oil in your deep fryer or pan in the meanwhile.

4. Use the skimmer or a long spoon to carefully place the balls in the oil, and bake them for 3-4 minutes, 5 at a time.

Get them out with the skimmer, and let them ‘drain’ a bit on the paper towels, to get rid of some oil.

And that’s it! If you fry them from the freezer, they take a bit longer. Just keep in mind the have to be brown, and not black or still green ;-)

5. Eat them! You can eat them warm or cold in a pita with hummus, tomato-salsa*, garlic-sauce, chili sauce and/or vegetables.

You can have them as a snack as well!

- If your mixture is too wet to create balls with them, add some flour.

- Rinse your hands/spoon/falafel-maker occasionally, those little pieces stuck to it tends to make your falafel-balls fall apart.