Falafel Pockets
A middle-eastern street food consisting of deep-fried patties made from grinded chickpeas, served in home-made pitas with lots of salad, onions, tomatoes, cucumber, chutneys, tahini sauce and hot-sauce…makes it an extremely delicious and healthy meal (or snack!) as chickpeas are known for their numerous health benefits.
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups dried chickpeas
1/2 cup chopped fresh coriander (leaves and stems)
1/4 cup fresh parsley
1 small onion, chopped into chunks
2 green chillies
1 tsp. garlic paste (or 3 fresh garlic cloves)
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper powder
1 tsp. cumin powder
1/2 tsp. coriander powder
2 tbsp. breadcrumbs
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
Instructions
- Soak the chickpeas overnight in water with 2 pinches baking soda (the soda helps soften the chickpeas). DO NOT BOIL THE CHICKPEAS!
- Drain the water and rinse the chickpeas thoroughly, again drain the water.
- Transfer the chickpeas, coriander, chillies, garlic and onion into a processor. Process until the mixture is crumbly and relatively smooth. Try not to use any water for this. You can process the ingredients in batches if necessary. If needed, you can add 1 tbsp. of water to help with the processing.
- Put the mixture into a bowl, add the salt, pepper, cumin powder, coriander powder and breadcrumbs. Mix well to combine everything.
- Just before frying, add the baking soda and baking powder. Mix very well. These help give nice and fluffy results.
- Shape into balls then flatten them slightly. You can leave them round, but I prefer to flatten mine so they cook properly and get crispy, plus they sit better in the pita pockets when flat.
- Fry on MEDIUM heat until crispy and golden/brown on both sides. If the heat is too high, the falafel will scatter in the oil or remain uncooked in the center, so make sure the heat is on medium.
- Drain and serve with dips of your choice or in pita pockets with salad, tahini sauce, slices of onions, tomatoes, cucumber cubes, chutneys that you like…etc. Enjoy! 🙂
hi can u use canned chickpeas??
Hi, no…canned chickpeas are precooked. You need these raw!
i used chickpea can.. since I am using the cick pea can I know they are cooked.. so do I still need to add the baking soda and powder before frying.
Please do NOT use the canned chickpeas as they are already pre-cooked. You need RAW chickpeas for this recipe. I have even mentioned it in a previous comment!
After drying mixing the canned chickpeas I realised your recipe calling for dried chickpeas.
Anyhow, I made it with canned chickpeas, I added an egg and 5tablespoon of flour, made a ball and rolled it in flour bed before frying. They did not break.
I will def. try with dried chickpeas next time. I am sure they will be better than the ones I made today.
Thanks for posting the response quickly.
Though i used raw chick peas,the falafel scattered in the oil.. wt should i do to overcome this ?
Did you use water when grinding the chickpeas, and if so, how much water was used? Excess water is one of the biggest causes of scattering in the oil. To help you can add either flour, gram flour or breadcrumbs, about 2 tbsp first and then try frying one more. Make sure the oil is hot when you place the falafel in it, then turn the heat down so it gets to cook fully. If it needs more flour/gram or breadcrumbs, you can then add accordingly.
I tried your Felafel recipe today. They turned out great.
Thank you for sharing the recipe
i will try
all yr recepies i tried were awesome
hi,the picture of falafel looks more of “bajia za kunde”so in absence of chickpeas can we use kunde to get the same taste,if so do we add all the ingredients or we shall ommit some of it!!!!!!!!!!!
Hi, yes you can make bhajia za kunde and use them in this recipe. Use all the ingredients mentioned. 🙂
hi,the baking soda you mentioned,does it apply to all raw foods to make them softer when soak them overnite,like beans,cowpeas etc
Yes it applies with all lentils or dry beans.
aslm alykm sis i don have a processor may i use mince meat machine
W/Salaam, yes that is ok.
Salam fauzia.can I freeze the remaining mixture for later use?
Best to fry then freeze the falafels.
I soaked the chickpeas overnight (about 12 hours) they are softer but still quite hard is that ok? can i go ahead and make the falafel’s?
Yes that is ok. 🙂
How to make pita pockets ?
How to make pita pockets ?
Use this pita recipe then cut
Use this pita recipe then cut them in half after they are done and put them on a hot grill to get the markings if you want. http://www.fauziaskitchenfun.com/stuffed-pita-bread
AOA. Do you need to deep fry
AOA. Do you need to deep fry the Falafel in a wok or can you just shallow fry in a frying pan?
W/Salaam, best to deep fry so
W/Salaam, best to deep fry so that the falafel get cooked through the centre, but if you plan on shallow frying, make sure they are a bit flat and small.to ensure they are properly cooked.
Heyy greetings. Be blessed.
Heyy greetings. Be blessed. Tried this recipe. The taste was awesome as usual.but my falafel were hard inside out. They didn’t scattered in the oil at all. However, When I soaked the chickpeas for a night and then dried n blendes them they were dry. No softness at all. Is it ok I preceded with the recipe and on frying they turned hard. Plz help. Thank you so much for this recipe once before I made falafal it was before I found you and it was a total disaster. But now everything was awesome except for the hardness. Much love n prayers.
Hi thanks! Did you add the
Hi thanks! Did you add the baking soda? It helps soften the falafel.
Hi! One and a half cups chick
Hi! One and a half cups chick peas is how many grams?
Have never weighed it out,
Have never weighed it out, just use any regular sized cup to measure please.
Oh! Its k. I am going to try
Oh! Its k. I am going to try the falafels today. Wil let u knw hw it turns out. When u mention ingredients in cup measurements can u pls if possible add the amount in grams too, it would make it much easier for those who r just now learning to cook. 🙂
I normally use a standard
I normally use a standard measuring cup and for the more regularly used ingredients like flour, sugar, rice, butter etc I have a note in the tips section converting each into grams.
I tried the falafels today
I tried the falafels today and they came out so well.!
I made falafel as well as the
I made falafel as well as the pockets. They came out so good. Really enjoyed with chutneys and salads. My husband loved them. Thanks.