Falafel
Soak dried chickpeas, grind finely and fry small patties
Twenty herb-rich chickpea falafel with lemon tahini
Includes 12 hours refrigerated soaking, 30 minutes mixture chilling, 35 minutes active preparation and about 20–25 minutes frying in batches. Soaking may take 12–18 hours. One tablespoon = 15 ml; one teaspoon = 5 ml.
About Falafel
These falafel use dried chickpeas soaked in cold water, then ground without pre-boiling. Tinned chickpeas do not behave the same way and are not an equivalent substitution in this formulation. Parsley and coriander give the interior its green color, while small flattened portions allow the centre to cook before the crust becomes too dark. This is an all-chickpea version, avoiding fava beans and their separate suitability concerns. The soaked mixture is raw until fried and must not be tasted.
Kitchen testing has not been documented for this recipe. Cooking times are estimates and vary with the stove, cookware and batch size. Follow the doneness checks in the method.
Make it work for your kitchen
Original quantities serve 5. Cooking times, pan size and frying-oil depth do not scale, cook in extra batches instead.
Before you start
Soak in the refrigerator
Pick over chickpeas, rinse and cover with the measured 1200 ml cold water in a large bowl. Refrigerate 12–18 hours. Drain and rinse; the beans should be swollen but remain uncooked.
Overnight preparationSet up frying safely
Dry utensils and place a lid nearby. Never add water to hot oil or fill the pan so high that bubbling food could overflow.
EquipmentSet up the equipment
Have the following tools ready before starting: Food processor; 20 cm deep heavy saucepan; Frying thermometer; Slotted spoon; Wire rack over tray; Fine sieve.
Clean workspaceMeasure the ingredients
Measure the ingredient quantities for your selected servings before applying heat. Keep separately listed groups, such as dough, filling, sauce or garnish, in separate containers; keep any optional additions separate.
Use the ingredient list above
Step-by-step cooking method
1 Drain thoroughly
After soaking, drain chickpeas in a sieve for 15 minutes. Spread briefly on a clean towel to remove surface water. Dry washed herbs well. Extra water weakens the mixture and spatters in oil.
2 Grind in batches
Pulse chickpeas, onion, garlic, herbs, cumin, ground coriander, salt and pepper in two processor batches. Scrape the bowl frequently.
3 Grind in batches (continued)
Stop when particles are small and uniform and a firmly squeezed spoonful holds together; avoid turning it into a completely smooth paste. Combine batches, cover and refrigerate 30 minutes.
4 Mix sauce and leavener
Whisk sauce tahini, lemon, garlic and salt; add water gradually until smooth. Keep chilled. Sprinkle baking powder through the cold falafel mixture immediately before frying and mix evenly.
5 Test one patty
Heat oil to 170–175°C. Shape one compressed 5 cm wide patty about 1.5 cm thick, roughly one twentieth of the mixture.
6 Test one patty (continued)
Lower carefully into oil and fry 4–5 minutes, turning once. Split it: the centre should be hot, moist and fine-textured with no hard chalky bean pieces. If it breaks apart, pulse mixture finer; if still loose, mix in up to the measured 15 g chickpea flour and rest 10 minutes.
7 Fry in batches
Shape remaining mixture into the same size patties. Fry 4–5 at a time, keeping oil near 170–175°C and returning it to temperature between batches. Cook 4–5 minutes, turning gently, until deep golden and cooked through. If the crust darkens before the interior cooks, reduce heat and make the next patties slightly thinner.
8 Drain and serve
Lift to a rack rather than a deep bowl, which traps steam. Let stand 2 minutes, then serve with the tahini sauce. Do not eat raw mixture or merely warm undercooked centres.
Chef’s tips
- Do not substitute kidney beans or other dried beans; their safety preparation differs.
- Compress patties firmly enough to hold but avoid polishing them into dense hard balls.
Common mistakes & quick fixes
- Falafel disintegrates
- Drain better, grind finer and test again; tinned chickpeas cannot be repaired into this dried-chickpea method by a little extra flour.
- Dark outside, hard inside
- Oil is too hot or patties too thick. Return to the stated size and temperature and verify a split test fritter.
Variations & serving ideas
No coriander leaf: Replace its 25 g with 25 g extra parsley for a different herb balance.
Small snack portion: Serve 4 falafel per person with the measured sauce; bread and salads are additional ingredients.
Perfect result check
| Interior | Fine moist green crumb with no chalky raw bean fragments. |
|---|---|
| Crust | Deep golden, crisp and intact after draining. |
Storage & reheating
| Refrigerate cooked falafel | Up to 48 hours | Cool promptly on a rack, then refrigerate within 1–2 hours. Keep sauce separate. |
|---|---|---|
| Reheat | Once | Use an oven until centres are steaming throughout; the crust will be less delicate than freshly fried. |
Know when to change the heat
| Stage | Heat | What to look for |
|---|---|---|
| Fry | 170–175°C | Steady bubbling without instant blackening or sluggish oil absorption. |
Helpful answers before you cook
Can I use tinned chickpeas?
Not in this recipe. Their soft cooked structure produces a different mixture, often requiring substantial binders; use a formulation developed for cooked chickpeas instead.
Can I bake these instead?
This recipe specifies frying for heat transfer and texture. Baking changes both and has not been validated for this raw soaked mixture.
Can I skip the overnight soak?
No. The dried chickpeas need to hydrate throughout. A short soak leaves hard centres that the frying time cannot reliably correct.
