The art of making Falafel: a Lebanese tradition

6/2/2016

FOODIE | SERIES Chef's Local Table

Falafel is a traditional Lebanese snack based on nutritious chickpeas. Originally it was mainly eaten in the Middle East, but nowadays it is increasingly being sold in the West. A true vegetarian classic.

BY HANAN, recipe

HALAL

Recipe for Falafel

■ Ingredients

(for 20 pieces)
- 400 grams of dried chickpeas.
- Handful of leaf parsley.
- 1 large onion.
- A few drops of sesame oil.
- 2 to 3 tablespoons of wheat flour.
- 1 or 2 cloves of garlic.
- 1 teaspoon of cumin powder.
- 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper.
- Pinch of salt.

■ Preparation

- Soak the chickpeas overnight in cold water. You will notice that the volume more or less doubles. Don't use canned chickpeas for this recipe, they are already cooked.
- Cut the garlic and onion into large pieces.
- Remove the stalks from the parsley and fine the leaves.
- Put the chickpeas with all ingredients in a blender and grind them until you get a crumbly dough. Make sure there are no longer large pieces in it, but don't blend the dough for too long.
- Wet your hands and roll small balls off the dough. You choose the diameter yourself, but smaller balls are fried faster.
- Fry them until they are golden yellow on both sides.
- Make a delicious dip sauce to your own taste.

Enjoy your food.