To help you celebrate the world cup with friends here is our recipe for a great sharing plate – Falafels
Ingredients:
100g dry chickpeas- you must start with dry, do NOT substitute canned, they will not work!
1 small onion, finely diced
3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
4 tsp finely chopped garlic or 4 cloves
1½ tbsp plain flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
¼ tsp black pepper
½ tsp cayenne chilli powder or hot chilli powder depending on your heat tolerance
Vegetable oil for frying
1 tsp baking powder
Cooking Instructions:
- Pour the chickpeas into a large bowl and cover them with about 3 inches of hot water. Let them soak overnight. They will double in size – so you will end up with more than you think.
- Drain them well, and place them in a large mixing bowl.
- Add all the other ingredients except the baking powder and mix well using your hand.
- Pour the mixture into the food processor (if you’re using a smaller processor then you may wish to do this in batches.) Pulse all ingredients together until a rough, coarse mixture forms. Scrape the sides of the processor periodically and push the mixture down the sides. Process until the mixture is somewhere between the texture of couscous and a paste, a sand like texture. You want the mixture to hold together, and a more paste-like consistency will help with that… but don’t over process, you don’t want it turning into hummus!
- Once the mixture reaches the desired consistency, pour it out into the original bowl once again and use a fork to stir; this will make the texture more even throughout. Remove any large chickpea chunks that the processor missed. Taste to adjust the seasoning as necessary.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1-2 hours. Or as long as time permits possible.
- When you’re ready to use the mixture add 1 tsp baking powder to help to lighten the texture and consistency.
- Heat a deep fryer or karahi with rapeseed oil to about 2 inches. Heat the oil slowly over medium heat. Meanwhile, form the falafel mixture into round balls, the size of a walnut, use a tablespoon to give you an idea of volume per ball. If you’re struggling to get the mixture to hold together you could add 1 or 2 tbsps of flour to the mixture.
- When the oil is ready place one of the balls into the oil to test, lower the balls one by one into the hot oil it will take 2-3 minutes per side to brown (5-6 minutes total). If it browns faster than that, your oil is too hot and your falafels will not be fully cooked in the centre. Cool the oil down slightly and try again. When the oil is at the right temperature, fry the falafels in batches of 5-6 at a time until golden brown on both sides.
- Once the falafels are fried, remove them from the oil using a slotted spoon. Let them drain on paper towels.
- Serve the falafels fresh and hot; they go best with a plate of hummus and topped with creamy tahini sauce.
Cook’s Tip 1: If your falafel is too hard/too crunchy on the outside, it could be that you didn’t process the mixture enough, return the chickpea mixture to the processor to make it more paste-like.
Kumud Gandhi is a Nutritional Food Scientist bestselling Author, Broadcaster, and Keynote Speaker on the subject of nutritional health for productivity & performance in the workplace. In 2010 Kumud founded ‘The Cooking Academy’ a cookery school that focusses on cooking for nutritional health and wellbeing. Kumud regularly presents to international audiences on a variety of topics such as ‘Eating for Immunity and a Lifetime of Wellness’. She is an expert in the field of Wellness in the Workplace and works with organizations to create transformational change in employee health & well-being through nutrition and health coaching.
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