What are Falafels?
Falafel is a typical recipe of Arabic cuisine. It is a kind of croquette made from chickpeas and in some cases chickpea flour, although it is also made with beans depending on the area, as for example in Egypt.
Although we associate falafel with the Middle East, it is believed that its origin is located in India; where it was cooked with bread and spices. Today it is a dish that has spread throughout the West thanks to the fact that oriental cuisine is increasingly established in these countries.
Falafel is usually served as a starter accompanied with a yogurt sauce as I propose in this post or with hummus, although it can also be prepared as a sandwich or sandwich by putting them inside pita bread.
We can make this falafel recipe with a kitchen processor, what's more, I would recommend it. Traditionally it is made with a mortar crushing the ingredients but currently, if we have a kitchen processor or blender I guarantee that it will help you a lot.
If one day you want to make an Arabic dinner for your guests, I recommend using this falafel recipe accompanied by a yogurt sauce as a start. If you are vegan or vegetarian, the falafel is ideal for you as it is nutritious; it is high in vitamin B, calcium, and iron
Well, now I tell you, strict as always but without fear of being wrong, that falafel is the best thing that can happen to a chickpea. If you were a chickpea you would want to die turned into falafel, I know what I'm saying :D
The falafel recipe is very easy to make, here are all the instructions so that your chickpeas have a more than worthy ending. Enjoy it!
How To Make Falafel?
•   Half a kilo of chickpeas or dried peeled beans (soak the night before)
•   2/3 chopped onions
•   1/2 cup fresh parsley
•   1/2 cup fresh coriander
•   3 garlic cloves, minced
•   2 teaspoons ground cumin
•   1 cup breadcrumbs or flour if you do not have breadcrumbs.
•   1 tablespoon baking soda (recommended) or baking powder
•   1 teaspoon salt
•   1 pinch of black pepper
•   Sunflower oil for frying
Preparation:
Step 1: Rinse with water and drain the chickpeas or beans soaked the night before.
Step 2: Blend the uncooked chickpeas or beans directly with the blender or mincer together with the onions, garlic, parsley, fresh coriander, and a cup of water. Mix until thick.
Step 3: Add the salt, ground cumin, black pepper, cayenne (optional), baking soda, and mix a little. Let the mixture rest for 30 minutes.
Step 4: Make the mixture into small balls or mini hamburgers, the size of a ping pong ball. Squash them a bit if the mixture is too wet because it can be difficult for you to form balls, you can add little breadcrumbs or wheat flour.
Step 5: Fry in plenty of sunflower oil over medium / high heat until golden brown (5-7 minutes). Serve hot.
Note: Don't use canned chickpeas in this falafel recipe: using canned chickpeas will result in a completely different consistency than dried chickpeas and the falafel cutlet will fall apart in the oil. Replacing boiled and canned chickpeas don't work here - your falafels will come out moist and soft.
Also, if you do not want to fry them, you can bake them. Just put a little oil on top of each falafel (you can use a brush) and just that!
How to Make Arabic Yogurt Sauce?
Ingredients
•   A cup of plain yogurt (you can use Greek yogurt)
•   The juice of a lemon
•   A generous splash of olive oil
•   One or two cloves of garlic
•   Salt and pepper
•   Cucumber, mint leaves, or sesame seeds (optional)
Preparation
It is very easy to prepare this yogurt sauce. Start by crushing the garlic in the mortar (or mincing it very finely). Place the yogurt in a container; add the lemon juice, garlic, and also olive oil. Mix well and season with salt and pepper.
Natural yogurt sauce with cucumber
In many places, finely chopped pickled cucumbers, mint or spearmint leaves, such as roasted sesame seeds, are added to this yogurt sauce. This is at your discretion. You can use the yogurt sauce as a base or add the extras that you can think of. For example, you can prepare the yogurt sauce with chives or pickles. It looks perfect anyway.
In this case, you are going to prepare a yogurt sauce for falafel, which has cucumber and mint. It goes great with it.
It is made exactly the same as the previous one, only it also has half a finely chopped cucumber and a good bunch of fresh mint, also chopped. You mix well and it is ready to use. It is very tasty because it gives it an extra touch of freshness.
I hope you liked it, try doing them at home, it will not take more than 40 minutes. They are easy to make and very tasty.
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