Fledgling Falafel Flight

I love falafel. I don't always have easy access to it, so when I saw this recipe on my cooking group I had to try it. 

 

Gathered all the goodies and dove right in. Let's make some falafel.

Placed the garbanzo beans and onion in the food processor and added the bread cubes,

then the spices.

Whirred it up into a paste,

and transferred to a bowl.

Now, here's where I made my mistake. I just dumped the egg and lemon juice into the bean mix. I should have added them little by little, stirring after each addition.

I ended up with a loose wet mix.

To which I added more garbanzo beans that I pulverized in the food processor and more bread crumbs. I also put them in the fridge for a while hoping that would help.

Once I got a workable mixture I coated them with bread crumbs and fried.

My first patties were too big and fell apart when I fried them.

So I made smaller patties that worked out beautifully.

Nice and crunchy on the outside, smooth and spicy on the inside.

I took some to work the next day to share with my co workers. I have a few that are game to sampling  my new recipes, and offer me good feedback. One co worker that had lived in Israel for a year and said they were delicious, high praise indeed.

This is the recipe I used. 

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Falafel

1 1/2 cups cooked fava or garbanzo beans
1  onion, cut in 8
2-3 cloves garlic
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 cup fresh bread, cubed or crumbs
1/4 tsp. cumin seeds
1 tbsp. crushed dried red chilies
1 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
  salt and freshly ground pepper; to taste
1  egg, beaten
1/3 cup dry fine bread crumbs
  vegetable oil for deep frying
4 pieces pita bread, warmed
  shredded lettuce
  onion slices
  tomato slices
  hot pickled green pepper or harissa
1 tbsp. tahini

Process fava or garbanzo beans, onion, garlic, bread, cumin, and chilies in
a blender or food processor until smooth, then spoon mixture into a bowl.
Add parsley salt, pepper, lemon juice, and egg; mix well.  Form in 8 balls
and coat in bread crumbs. Flatten balls slightly to form oval shapes.

EITHER:
Half fill a deep fryer or sauce pan with oil; heat to 375°F. Fry Falafel, a
few at a time, 3 minutes or until golden brown.  Drain on paper towels.

OR:
Bake at 375F on a greased cookie sheet for 30 minutes.

Cut pita bread in half and open to form pockets.  Put 1 Falafel into each
pocket with lettuce, onion, and tomato slices and serve hot with a pepper
or harissa on the top.

Notes:  Mark on rfc

** Exported from Now You're Cooking! v5.84 **

Spicy and wonderful. Definitely something I'll do again.

Comments

[shawn martin]

I like! Have you tried them baked?
Looks like they would fin in on my diet.

[koko]

Yes I have baked them, they are not as crispy though.
Next time, if I don't fry them, I think I'll see how they do under the broiler.
I really like the crunchy outside with the smooth inside the falafel is known for.