Veggie Foodie

Ingredients:

• 1 cup dried chickpeas, soaked overnight or for at least 7-8 hours. This recipe will not work with canned chickpeas since they are way too wet
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup chopped parsley
• 1 cup chopped cilantro
• 1 small green chili pepper, Serrano or jalapeno pepper
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 tsp roasted cumin seeds powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cardamom powder
• 1/4 tsp black pepper powder
• 2 tbsp chickpea flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Method:

1. Drain the chickpeas and let it dry for a few minutes
2. Make sure that the chopped herbs are not too wet. Access water will make the falafel wet and soggy from inside. You want them moist and soft inside and not soggy!
3. In our experience, blending raw onions make the end product somewhat bitter. We lightly sauté the chopped onions in small quantity of oil, let them cool and then add to blender / food processor
4. To food processor add chickpeas, onion, parsley, cilantro, pepper, garlic, cumin, salt, cardamom and black pepper and pulse to coarse mix
5. Transfer the falafel mixture to a bowl, add chickpea flour and baking soda and mix well. If the mixture is too wet, you can add another tablespoon of chickpea flour. If it’s too dry and crumbly, you can add a teaspoon or two of water or lemon juice
6. Cover it and refrigerate the mixture for 30 minutes to one hour
7. Preheat the over to 350F
8. To the baking pan, add 1 tbsp oil and spread it evenly to cover the baking surface
9. Pour falafel mix to the baking pan, gently spread it evenly in the pan. Add 1 tbsp oil on the surface, spread it evenly and bake it for 25-30 minutes, keeping an eye to make sure it doesn’t get overcooked and become too dark
10. Take out the pan from the oven, insert a knife and take it out. If the knife is dry, your falafel is fully cooked from inside. If the mix sticks to the knife, you may need to bake the falafel for a few more minutes
11. Cut into pieces and serve with tahini / yogurt sauce

Serves: 4

Inspiration source:

Falafel