Today’s QUIZINE IN QUARANTINE is the one and only Falafel! This dish is a middle eastern favourite and through the worldwide Arab diaspora, has become popular all over the world. Falafel has traditionally been made with chickpeas, fava (broad) beans or both.
The origins of this wonderful dish are hotly debated in the Middle East. Some say it was the Egyptians who created this dish (maybe all the way back from the days of the Pharaohs)! The story goes through the port city of Alexandria the joys of this dish were shared with the Levant. Whatever the case, at Quizine we extend our gratitude to all who have had a part to play in the fine tuning of this vegetarian sensation. These little deep-fried balls are delicious to enjoy either a snack, or as a filling in a sandwich.
INGREDIENTS
500grams dry chickpeas soaked overnight
2 onions
5 cloves garlic
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 cup parsley
1 tbsp baking powder
4 tbsp flour
1 tsp coriander, cumin, chilli, ground pepper and salt
2 tsp lemon juice
5 green chilli
Vegetable oil to fry
Sesame seeds
1. Leave dry chickpeas to soak in water overnight. Note that for falafel, you can use fava bean, chickpeas or both. In this recipe we will only be using chickpeas.
2. Add chickpeas, onions, garlic cloves, green chillies, parsley, lemon juice, coriander, cumin, chilli, ground pepper, salt and flour into bowl and blend.
3. This will not be easy to blend so try and use a powerful machine. Refrain from adding water to help blend as it will ruin the consistency. Blend until pulpy in texture.
4. Roll the mixture into ball shapes and coat in sesame seeds.
5. Fry in hot oil until a beautiful golden brown colour. It should take approx 5 mins.
6. You can enjoys these as an amazing snack with some sauce or put inside a sandwich. It’s up to you! Enjoy!
Check out how we do it below: