This classic falafel recipe is republished with permission from Reem Kassis, author of the cookbook The Palestinian Table.
For this and another 149 authentic Palestinian recipes – ranging from atayef to zaatar – we highly recommend grabbing a copy of her beautiful book. If you're in New Zealand or Australia, you can purchase it here.
Reem Kassis's Recipe for Palestinian Falafel
Falafel can be found on every street corner back home, so they are more convenient to buy than to make. l used to love going to the Old City of Jerusalem with my mother as we purchased our way to breakfast: the bakery for ka'ak, the hummus store, and finally the falafel stand, where you just tell the vendor how many shekels you want to spend and he gives you the appropriate-sized paper bag filled with these crunchy spheres. Since I've been living abroad, however, the only falafel that can compare are the ones made at home; this is my go-to recipe for those weekend mornings when I'm feeling nostalgic for an Old City breakfast.
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Makes: 30-40, depending on size
Time Required: 35 min (30 min prep, 5 min cooking)
Ingredients:
- 1 onion
- 2 small cloves garlic
- 2 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley
- 2 tbsp chopped coriander
- 1 red or green chilli (optional)
- 250g dried chickpeas, soaked overnight in water and drained (see Note)
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- vegetable oil, for deep frying
Steps:
- Put the onion, garlic, parsley, coriander, and chilli into the bowl of a food processor and process until finely chopped.
- Add the drained chickpeas and continue to process, stopping and scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally, until everything comes together in a coarse paste. You want it a bit grainier than hummus texture to keep the falafel light and fluffy.
- Transfer the paste to a bowl, add the spices and salt, and mix until well incorporated. At this point, if not frying immediately, the mixture can be stored in the refrigerator for a couple of days or in the freezer for a couple of months.
- When you are ready to cook the falafel, fill a large wok or frying pan with 5-7cm vegetable oil and place over medium-high heat until it reaches 180°C.
- Meanwhile sprinkle the falafel mixture with the baking powder and mix well.
- Using a falafel scoop, drop the falafel balls one by one into the hot oil, taking care not to overcrowd the pan, and pan-fry until a deep golden brown, about 5 minutes. (If you do not have a falafel scoop, you can use your hands to roll the dough into walnut-sized balls then very slightly flatten with your palms.)
- Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.
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Serve with pita bread, tahini sauce, and mixed vegetables and pickles.
Note: Falafel can also be made with a combination of dried chickpeas and split fava (broad) beans. Dried split fava beans are difficult to find outside Middle Eastern grocery stores, so the recipe I have set down here uses only chickpeas. If you do have fava beans, you can substitute up to half the quantity of chickpeas with them.
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About the Author
Reem Kassis is an award-winning author and advocate for the cuisine and cultural heritage of Palestine and the Arab world. Reem's writing has been featured in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Wall Street Journal, The FT, Serious Eats, Food & Wine and countless other magazines and academic journals.
In addition to her two cookbooks, children's book, and chapter contributions, she speaks widely at universities, corporations, and conferences and has appeared on many radio shows including NPR's Fresh Air.
For more recipes by ٓReem, buy her cookbook The Palestinian Table – available in NZ and Australia at Bayyāra.