Homemade falafel
- Published: 31 Oct 06
- Updated: 18 Mar 24
This homemade falafel recipe uses chickpeas as the main ingredient. A lovely Middle-Eastern dish to serve for lunch or a light dinner.
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp tahini (sesame seed paste, from major supermarkets)
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 200g dried chickpeas, soaked overnight
- 1 level tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 onion, finely diced
- Bunch of fresh coriander, roughly chopped, plus extra to garnish
- Vegetable oil, for frying
- 8-12 pitta breads, warmed and split, to serve
For the pickle salad
- 2 small carrots, grated
- ½ small red cabbage, finely sliced
- Juice of ½ lemon
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 pickled chillies, roughly sliced
- 3 gherkins, roughly sliced
Method
- Make the pickle salad. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
- Make the dressing. Combine the tahini, half the lemon juice and 50ml water in a bowl. Whisk until smooth, adding a dash of water if it’s too thick. Season and set aside.
- Drain the chickpeas well, then blitz in a food processor to fine crumbs. Add the remaining lemon juice, baking powder, salt, garlic, onion and coriander and blitz again to a pale green purée. Using your hands, shape into 24 small patties.
- Half-fill a large, deep heavy-based saucepan with vegetable oil. Heat until a bread cube turns golden in 1 minute. Fry the fritters, in batches, for 3 minutes, turning once, until golden. Drain on kitchen paper.
- Divide the fritters and salad between the pittas and drizzle with the dressing to serve.
- Recipe from November 2006 Issue
Nutrition
For 4 servings
- Calories
- 809kcals
- Fat
- 28.3g (3.6 saturated)
- Protein
- 29.2g
- Carbohydrates
- 116.8g (12.7g sugar)
- Salt
- 4.8g
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