Israeli falafel is considered to be the national dish of Israel. They can be found on nearly every street corner. The difference between falafel in Israel vs Egypt is they are made with chickpeas as opposed to the fava bean. Either way they are protein rich little fried balls of goodness. They are usually enjoyed in a pita with condiments like tomato, onions, peppers, eggplant, marinated turnips and of course some tahini sauce and/or hummus. We had them as the appetizer for our Israeli meal but certainly can be a meal by itself. Enjoy!
Israeli Falafel
Servings 20 falafels
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried chickpeas or 1 can of chickpeas rinsed and drained.
- 1/2 large onion diced finely
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2-1 teaspoon dried hot red pepper
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2-4 tablespoons flour or more
- vegetable oil for frying
- Chopped tomato for garnish
- Diced onion for garnish
- Diced bell pepper for garnish
- Tahini sauce or hummus
- Harrisa hot sauce Optional
- Pickled turnip for garnish (optional)
- amba/pickled mango for garnish (Optional)
- Pita bread
Instructions
- Put the chickpeas in a large bowl and add enough cold water to cover them by at least 2 inches. Let soak overnight, then drain. Or use canned chickpeas, drained.
- Place the drained, uncooked chickpeas and the onions in a food processor fitted with a steel blade or blender. Add the parsley, cilantro, salt, hot pepper, garlic, and cumin. Process until blended but not pureed.
- Sprinkle in the baking powder and 4 tablespoons of the flour, and pulse. You want to add enough flour so that the dough forms a small ball and no longer sticks to your hands. Turn into a bowl and refrigerate, covered, for several hours.
- Form the chickpea mixture into balls about the size of a ping pong ball.
- Heat 3 inches of oil to 375 degrees in a pot and fry falafel's a few minutes on each side, or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. (if they want to fall apart add more flour.
- Serve with pitas, chopped tomatoes, onion, green pepper. Drizzle with tahini.
- Additional condiments for an authentic Israeli experience try, eggplant, pickled turnips, harissa ( a hot sauce ) and amba a mango pickle.
