It’s vegan, vegetarian goodness with a lot of protein. It’s an overall hearty delicious meal. Falafel is an easy, quick dish to make once you understand the basics. There are four parts to a falafel meal:
The falafel, either baked or fried
The taratour, a Middle-Eastern tahini sauce
Bread
Veggies (as seen above)
Pickles (cucumber & turnip)
Parsley
Tomatoes
Cucumbers
Radish
The falafel refers to the mixture of ground beans (usually fava beans and chick peas), spices and parsley. Restaurant falafel is traditionally fried but it tastes nearly as delicious baked. It’s the meat of the meal. It is filling to say the least and even a full grown man whose all about the big chunk of protein will admit that falafel will fill you up. I mean there’s 8 grams of protein per 100 grams of Fava Beans and 19 grams of protein per 100 grams of Chickpeas. Below is a nutritional chart of Falafel, sourced from wikipedia. When baked, consider falafel low-cholesterol “clean eating”.
Sourced from Wikipedia and the USDA Nutrient Database
To make falafel from scratch, you’ll need to soak peas and spices overnight and bring out the good ol’ food processor the next day before mixing in Falafel Spices
OR
…you could use Spice of Zara’s SPICE x WATER x PROTEIN falafel mix which already blends dried chick peas, fava beans & a unique mix of Falafel Spices so all you need to do is add water. The mix was first crafted by our father with the belief that just because it was prepared, it didn’t have to be unhealthy. Instructions are on the package and the mix leaves room for creativity (Tip: add fresh parsley or coriander). The mix will give you the made-from-scratch benefits with the store-bought flavour. Including veggies, taratour and cook time, this dish has a 15 minute prep time about the quarter of the time of the made from scratch alternative.
You choose.
Falafel: Made From Scratch
Ingredients
The falafel…
1 lb of dry peeled fava beans Tip: Purchase the fava beans already peeled
2 tbsp of tahini paste Tip: Check your local Middle-Eastern store
1 cup of freshly squeezed lemon Juice
3 gloves of garlic, crushed
a dash of salt
Instructions
Blending the falafel mix…
Soak fava beans and soak chickpeas in water overnight, each in their own bowl
The next day, drain the beans, rinse with fresh water and peel (if not peeled)
Allow the beans to dry for a few minutes before putting them in a food processor
Add the beans to the food processor and blend until they look like small bread crumbs. Put this blend aside.
Repeat steps 2-4 for the peas
Once complete, mix the peas with the beans
Add the flour, onions, parsley and spices into the food processor and blend until they turn into a paste
Add the mixture with the peas and the beans and knead the mixture with your hands, as you would dough. If the mixture feels dry, add a little bit of water and continue kneading. Tip: At this point, taste a small amount of the pre-cooked falafel mix to ensure the flavour is correct.
Baking the mix…
Traditionally falafel is fried but recently baking has been a health-conscious alternative to frying. To bake, use a spoon to scoop from the finished blend and add them to a cooking tray that has been lightly oil.
Gently press the falafel with a spoon to flatten out
Bake in the oven at 200C for 7-10 minutes
Frying the mix…
Heat some cooking oil in a frying pan on medium heat Tip: You want the oil to completely cover the falafel mix, as you would fry French fries. Another tip, add baking soda to the mixture right before frying for added crisp
Using a falafel scoop, or an ice cream scoop or 2 spoons (or even your hands) make a compact falafel, as seen in the picture Tip: This might be tricky but don’t give up. We’ll try and get some falafel scoops in the store soon!
Gently drop each falafel into the oil. The falafel is finished when it has turned into a dark brown
Remove the falafel and place it on a paper towel to allow the extra oil to soak the paper towel
Making taratour (tahini sauce)…
Here’s a great video reference to make Taratour (Middle-Eastern tahini sauce) from ChefMediterranean on YouTube.
Making the falafel sandwich…
Open up a piece of pita bread and garnish along the center with the parsley leaves, pickles, radish, cucumber and tomatoes.
While the falafel is still hot, gently break it in half and add it above the vegetables. 3 falafel is generally enough to fill up one sandwich.
Add the taratour on top of falafel and enjoy
This mix serves ten but any remaining mix can be saved in the freezer. Some aspects of this recipe were inspired by Lebanese Mama over at her delicious Lebanese Kitchen
