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Authentic Falafels Recipe

Recipe by: Kathleen Woods Rubino

"These falafels are the closest thing to NYC street vendor falafels! Made the traditional way with dried soaked chickpeas! Great on a pita with lettuce, cucumber and yogurt. Asafoetida is usually found in Middle Eastern or Indian food stores. If you prefer, you can use 2 to 3 garlic cloves and 1 small chopped onion instead. This is a great base recipe, customize it to your own tastes."

Directions
Ingredients
Nutrition

Directions

Prep30 m
Cook10 m
Ready In9 h 40 m

1Place dried chickpeas in a bowl. Fill with water to cover; stir in baking soda. Soak at least 8 hours or overnight in refrigerator. Drain.
2Place soaked and drained chickpeas in a blender or food processor; blend to a paste.
3Pour water into chickpea paste and blend until smooth. Scrape down sides of blender with spatula if needed.
4Place sesame seeds, cumin, salt, baking powder, coriander, black pepper, red chili powder, sugar, turmeric, and asafoetida powder in blender with chickpea paste; blend until well mixed. Transfer chickpea mixture to a bowl.
5Chill chickpea mixture in refrigerator to allow flavors to blend, at least 1 hour and up to two days.
6Pour vegetable oil to a depth of 1 inch in a deep skillet over medium heat and heat to 370 degrees F (188 degrees C).
7Scoop up chickpea mixture by heaping tablespoons and form into balls the size of ping pong balls.
8Fry balls in hot oil until golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes on each side.

Footnotes

Editor's note:
We have determined the nutritional value of oil for frying based on a retention value of 10% after cooking. The exact amount will vary depending on cooking time and temperature, ingredient density, and the specific type of oil used.

Ingredients