Spicy, moist with a perfect falafel texture these chickpea snacks give a kick of taste at the back of your mouth. A flavourful lunchtime snack or light dinner in a wrap with a bit of crunch, made slightly sweet with the beetroot powder. Lusciously contrasted with freshly cut cucumber and carrot salad.
Part of our Global Kitchen Series, see it here
Equipment
- Sieve
- Chopping Board
- Chopping Knife
- Large Pan
- Wooden Stirring Spoon
- Large Bowl
- Hand Blender
- Fridge
- Non-Stick Medium Pan
- Metal Slotted Spoon
- Ovenproof Dish
- Oven
- Kitchen Roll
Ingredients
- 2 Onions
- 1 Can Chickpeas
- 1 Can Canellini Beans
- 3 Garlic Cloves
- 1 Tsp Coriander Powder
- 1 Tsp Cumin Powder
- 1 Tsp Himalayan Salt
- 1/2 Tsp Chilli Powder
- 3 Handfuls of Fresh Flat Leaf Parsley
- 2 Tsp Arrowroot Starch Powder
- 1/2 Tsp Baking Soda
- Olive Oil for Frying
Optional servings
- GF Bread Wrap
- Fresh Salad
- Sweet Potato Fries
Method
- Firstly, using a sieve drain the canned chickpeas and beans.
- Next finely chop the onions, garlic cloves and parsley.
- Heat the coconut oil in a large pan and fry the onions with the salt for a few minutes until soft. Add the garlic and continue frying for a few minutes.
- Then, add the beetroot, coriander, cumin & chilli powders and cook for 5-7 minutes stirring frequently until golden brown and tasty looking.
- Remove the pan from the heat and let cool.
- In a large bowl empty the chickpeas and beans and add the cooled down onion mixture from above. Mix well.
- Next, add the arrowroot and baking soda. Keep mixing well.
- Then, using a handblender, semi-blend the mixture so that some whole beans remain but the texture is more like a paste in general. This mixture should be quite wet.
- Now, add the gram flour a tbsp at a time until the mixture is dry enough to roll into clean little balls with your hands. (Tip: before doing so wet your hands under cold tap, so mixture doesn't stick to your hands).
- Smaller falafels cook better than larger ones, recommended size is slightly smaller than a golf ball.
- Now the important bit... the cooling! Leaving the rolled balls in the fridge for a few hours will help to hold the shape when cooking. (If you haven't got these few hours to spare, you can form the balls into more of a patty shape, flatter and less neat but remember to keep them small!)
- To cook them, best is a shallow fry pan in a non-stick saucepan with hot olive oil. You will need to keep watch on them at all frying times! Test the oil with one falafel ball, it should make a noisy fry but not burn immediately.
- Cook 3-4 falafels at a time in the oil, turning constantly with a metal slotted spoon. Once nicely browned, after 10-12 minutes place the falafel balls in an oven proof dish.
- Whilst cooking the rest, keep the already fried falafels in an oven at a low hear of 70/80 degrees c. This helps to finish off the cooking inside the balls if your oil was too hot and centre remains a bit mushy.
- If you had gone for the flatter patty option, the oven part is not necessary. Simply remove from the pan onto a kitchen roll and soak up the excess oil.
- Serve in a wrap with fresh salad.
- Enjoy!
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