Recipe
Falafel with tahini sauce
Crisp outside, green and fluffy inside. Real falafel starts with dried chickpeas soaked overnight - never cooked or canned ones - blitzed with a mountain of herbs and fried until deep brown.
Falafel with tahini sauce takes about 50 minutes and makes 4 servings. Each serving has 490 kcal.
- Preparation
- 30 minutes
- Cooking
- 20 minutes
- Total time
- 50 minutes
- Servings
- 4
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 490 kcal
- Protein
- 17 g
- Carbohydrates
- 43 g
- Fat
- 27 g
Ingredients
- Dried chickpeas250 g
- Parsley50 g
- Fresh cilantro30 g
- Red onion1 pc
- Garlic3 cloves
- Ground cumin2 tsp
- Baking powder1 tsp
- Tahini (sesame paste)100 g
- Lemon1 pc
- Sunflower oil30 ml
- Salt1 pinch
Instructions
- 1
The night before, cover the dried chickpeas with plenty of cold water and let them soak for at least 12 hours - they will triple in size.
Tip: Only soaked dried chickpeas work. Canned or cooked ones hold too much water and the falafel will fall apart in the oil - no exceptions.
- 2
Drain the chickpeas thoroughly and pat them dry - the drier the mix, the better it holds.
- 3
Pulse the chickpeas with parsley, cilantro, onion, garlic, cumin and salt to a coarse, bright-green rubble - like wet sand, not a paste.
- 4
Stir in the baking powder and chill the mixture for 30 minutes so it firms up.
- 5
Make the sauce: whisk tahini with lemon juice, a pinch of salt and ice-cold water - it will seize first, then loosen into a pale, pourable cream.
- 6
Heat 4 cm of oil to 170 °C - a piece of the mixture should sizzle at once and brown in about 40 seconds.
- 7
Shape balls with wet hands and fry in batches for 4 minutes, turning, until deep brown all over.
Tip: Fry one tester first. If it breaks apart, pulse the mixture a little finer and chill it another 15 minutes.
- 8
Drain on paper towels, salt while hot and serve with the tahini sauce.
Cooking methods
On the stove
Use a small, deep pot on medium heat and a thermometer if you have one - 170 °C is the sweet spot. Too cool and the falafel drink oil, too hot and they brown before the inside cooks.
On induction
Heat the oil at power 6 of 9, then hold at 5 while frying. Induction recovers heat quickly between batches - give it only 30 seconds before the next round.
Over an open fire
Deep-frying over open fire is hard to control and splashes are dangerous - do the frying indoors. Over embers you could instead flatten patties and cook them on a well-oiled cast-iron plate.
Recipe questions
- How long does this recipe take?
- Plan for about 50 minutes from start to finish.
- How many servings does this recipe make?
- This recipe makes 4 servings.
- Can I cook this recipe on induction?
- Yes. Heat the oil at power 6 of 9, then hold at 5 while frying. Induction recovers heat quickly between batches - give it only 30 seconds before the next round.
- Can I cook this recipe over an open fire?
- Yes. Deep-frying over open fire is hard to control and splashes are dangerous - do the frying indoors. Over embers you could instead flatten patties and cook them on a well-oiled cast-iron plate.
- Which dietary preferences does this recipe support?
- This recipe is tagged: vegetarian, vegan.
In the app
Cooking the way it should feel
One step on screen, a timer that keeps going, and clear progress until the dish is done.
