Readers Recipes: Falafel

Rachel left this recipe in the comments of the Frugal Food Series: Beans.

If you have a food processor,you can make great falafel without actually cooking the chickpeas- all you have to do is soak them. You get to use ultra cheap dried beans and save the energy used in boiling them; how frugal is that!

Falafel
1 lb dried chickpeas
1 cup onions
1/2 cup parsley
4 cloves garlic
4 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1 Tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda(optional)
1/4 cup flour (optional)

the baking soda gives the falafel a bit of a lift and the flour helps them hold together, but you can skip both

Sauce- mix plain yogurt, tahini(sesame paste), lemon juice, and a pinch of salt to taste

soak the chickpeas at least overnight(I have let them go for a couple of days as long as it is not too hot)

Combine everything in the food processor(in batches, if needed) and grind. I usually add several tablespoons of water to help things along.

Shape mixture into small patties and fry or bake. (Taste the first one and if the middle seems dry, add more water to the mixture.)Both methods work, but the frying gives a crunchier exterior. These freeze well, raw or cooked. My favorite way is to briefly fry them just until they are beginning to color, freeze on cookie sheets and bake in a hot oven from frozen. This is great for parties when you want a lot, but don’t want to spend two hours standing over hot oil.

This is one of those recipes that can be halved/doubled or endlessly varied according to taste. I got this on the internet and I am sorry I cannot credit the source, because this is a delicious recipe that everyone loves.

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