Falafel

Ingredients

Falafel

• 500 gdried chickpeas, soaked 12–24 hours in plenty of cold water, drained
• 1large onion, quartered
• 6garlic cloves
• 1large bunch flat-leaf parsley (80 g)
• 1 bunchcoriander (50 g)
• 2 tbspground cumin
• 1 tbspground coriander
• 1 tspground black pepper
• ½ tspcayenne, or 1 green chilli
• 2 tspfine salt
• 1 tspbicarbonate of soda
• 1 tbspplain flour or chickpea flour, only if needed
• 1 tbspwhite sesame seeds (optional)

To fry and serve

• 1.5 litressunflower or rapeseed oil
• 4pita breads
• 200 mltahini sauce (tahini, lemon juice, garlic, iced water)
• 3tomatoes and 2 cucumbers, finely diced with parsley and lemon (salat katzutz)
• 150 gpickled cucumbers and pickled turnip
• 4 tbspamba (pickled mango sauce)
• hot sauce (schug or harissa)

Directions

1. Drain the soaked chickpeas well and spread them on a towel for 15 minutes. They must be raw and dry: cooked or tinned chickpeas make a paste that disintegrates in the oil.
2. Grind the chickpeas with the onion, garlic, parsley and coriander through the fine plate of a mincer, or pulse in a processor in three batches, to the texture of damp couscous, never a smooth puree.
3. Mix in the cumin, ground coriander, pepper, cayenne and salt, then chill the mixture for at least 1 hour so it firms and the flavours settle.
4. Just before frying, sprinkle over the bicarbonate of soda with 1 tbsp water and beat by hand for a minute. The mixture lightens and swells; this is what gives the fluffy interior.
5. Test one ball first. If it falls apart, work in the tablespoon of flour; if it is dense, the mixture was ground too fine.
6. Heat the oil to 170–175°C (350–350°F). Too cool and the falafel drinks oil, too hot and it browns before the middle cooks.
7. Shape with a falafel scoop or two wet spoons into 4 cm balls, dip one face in sesame if you like, and fry 6 at a time for 3–4 minutes, turning, until deep brown and light in the tongs.
8. Drain on a rack, never on paper, and salt lightly.
9. Open the pita, smear the inside with tahini and amba, crush in 5 falafel, and load with chopped salad, pickles and hot sauce. Eat within minutes, while the crust is still crisp.

Technique

• The whole dish rests on raw soaked chickpeas. This is not a shortcut worth taking; the starch in cooked chickpeas turns gluey and the balls explode.
• Add the bicarbonate at the last moment. Left standing it dulls the green colour and the falafel fries up grey and heavy.
• Falafel is claimed by Israelis as a national food and by Palestinians, Lebanese, Syrians and Egyptians as their own; the dish is far older than any of the modern states and the argument over it is genuinely unresolved.
• Amba, the fenugreek-spiked pickled mango sauce, arrived with Iraqi Jews in the 1950s and is what distinguishes an Israeli falafel pita from a Levantine one.

Substitutions

• No dried chickpeas soaked in time: there is no substitute. Half fava beans and half chickpeas gives the Egyptian-influenced version, which is also excellent.
• No falafel scoop: two wet dessertspoons or a small ice-cream scoop with a release lever both work.
• Amba can be replaced by mango chutney thinned with lemon juice and a pinch of ground fenugreek and turmeric.

Variations

• Falafel in a laffa wrap rather than a pita, with chips inside, is the standard Tel Aviv order.
• Some stands stuff the balls with a nugget of harissa or a fried onion before frying.
• A version rolled in sesame seeds all over is common in Jerusalem.

History

Adopted as street food by Yemenite and other Jewish immigrants and sold in pita with salad and tahini from the 1950s.

Frequently asked questions

What is Falafel?

Falafel is a street food from Israel: fried chickpea balls in pita with salads, tahini and amba. Adopted as street food by Yemenite and other Jewish immigrants and sold in pita with salad and tahini from the 1950s.

How long does Falafel take to make?

Falafel takes 30 min of preparation and 12 hr soaking + 20 min frying of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings (about 20 balls). It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Falafel?

Yes, within limits. No dried chickpeas soaked in time: there is no substitute. Half fava beans and half chickpeas gives the Egyptian-influenced version, which is also excellent. No falafel scoop: two wet dessertspoons or a small ice-cream scoop with a release lever both work. Amba can be replaced by mango chutney thinned with lemon juice and a pinch of ground fenugreek and turmeric.

What is the most important thing to get right in Falafel?

Drain the soaked chickpeas well and spread them on a towel for 15 minutes. They must be raw and dry: cooked or tinned chickpeas make a paste that disintegrates in the oil.