Recipe for homemade Falafel | How to make falafel

Recipe for homemade falafel - Easy to make falafel recipe from scratch that is soft on the inside and crisp on the outside!

Course Appetizer, Breakfast, Lunch, Snack

Cuisine Mediterranean

Keyword Chickpeas, fritters, savoury

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 20

Soak Time 1

Total Time 1 20

Servings falafels

Calories 55kcal

Author Niveditha

Wash the chickpeas if needed and put them in a bowl. Pour the water on top. Cover the bowl with a lid and keep it in the fridge*.
Let it soak for about 24 hours. (For example, if you want to make it for evening snacks, soak it the previous day during snack time.) After the soak time, drain the water.

Add the soaked chickpeas, cilantro leaves, garlic, green chilli peppers and parsley leaves to a blender.
Blend it until you get an almost smooth consistency out of it. Transfer it a mixing bowl.

To the same mixing bowl add the salt, pepper powder, cumin powder, coriander seed powder, baking powder, sesame seeds and yogurt. Mix it thouroughly.
Place a frying pan or deep pan on stovetop. Pour in some oil enough to fry the falafels.
Divide it into 20 equal portions and roll it into round shaped falafels.
Once the oil is hot enough fry the falafels in batches in low-medium flame until it takes a deep golden brown in color. For me, it takes a total of 5 minutes to cook 4 falafels at a time.
Remove the falafels from the oil, drain it on a strainer or paper towel if required.
Serve it with tzatziki sauce or stuff them up in Pita Pockets!

Dried Chickpeas: Falafels are traditionally made with dried chickpeas. Since it is meant to be ground directly after soaking them, cooked canned chickpeas aren't the best choice.
Canned Chickpeas: If you don't have dried chickpeas, you can choose to use canned ones. Drain and pat them dry. Add the other ingredients and fry them on medium-high flame. Skip the yogurt in this case and add some gram flour if they don't hold shape.
Baking: You can bake these falafels instead of frying. Preheat the oven to 180 C. Arrange the falafels on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Bake them for 20 minutes or until they change to golden brown in color. You may press them to patty shapes instead of round ones.
Storage: These falafels once cooked can be stored in airtight containers in the refrigerator for 2 days and in the freezer for up to a week. Thaw before you reheat them.
Soaking: Soaking them for 24 hours will give you soft falafels, those that aren't dry to the throat. You can soak them for 18-24 hours. Ensure to keep it in the fridge because after 12 hours the water begins to go rancid.