Looking for a delicious and healthy vegan dish? Look no further than this homemade crispy falafel recipe! Made with nutritious ingredients and bursting with flavor, these falafel balls are sure to satisfy your cravings. Whether you're a seasoned pro in the kitchen or just starting out, this recipe is easy to follow and yields perfect results every time. These falafels are so crispy but moist on the inside and full of flavor! Serve them in a pita pocket or on a salad for a nutritious and satisfying meal. Let's get cooking! These are also gluten-free and can be prepped!

Happy Cooking!

Servings: 22-25 falafels

Prep Time: 1 hour

Cooking Time: 15-20 mins

Soaking and Chiling Time: 10-12 hours

Total Time: 10-12 hours

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup dried chickpeas (1/2 lb) to soak

• 1/4 tsp baking soda to soak

• 1.5 tsp salt to soak

• 3/4 small red onion chopped

• 1/2-2/3 cup chopped parsley; clean stems are good to use

• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro; clean stems are good to use 

• 5-6 cloves of garlic

• 1/2-1 Serrano chopped

• 1-2 green chili chopped

• 3-4 scallion chopped 

• 1 tbsp chickpea flour 

• 1 tsp salt as per taste

• 3/4 tbsp cumin powder

• 1/2 tbsp coriander powder

• 1/4 tsp pepper

• 1/2-1 tsp sugar 

• 1-2 tsp chili powder

• 1/4 tsp baking powder

• 1-2 tsp Salt as per taste

• Oil to fry 

Directions: 

1. In a bowl add dried chickpeas with salt and baking soda. Cover with cold water and let it soak for 8-10 hours.

2. Once soaked, drain the chickpeas and let them air dry for about 1 hour.

3. In a food processor add the chickpeas, chopped onions, cilantro, parsley, garlic cloves, serrano, scallion, chickpea flour, cumin powder, coriander powder, salt, sugar, pepper, chili powder, and baking powder.

4. Pulse it together to form a mixture, not too fine but it should hold together. It should have some tiny pieces and a little pasty. Scrape the edges of the bowl and grind. See the video for the consistency.

5. Transfer it to a bowl and cover it and let it sit in the fridge for 30-60 mins.

6. Then divide into 20-25 divisions, form into discs or rounds as you want. When shaping do not squeeze out too much. You want the water content to stay in the falafels.

7. Heat the oil to deep fry. You want hot oil (around 380F) so it fries fast. Each falafel takes about 3-4 mins to fry.

8. Deep fry the falafels till crispy and brown on all sides. Transfer on a per towel to let the excess oil soak up.

9. Falafels are ready!

Notes/Tips:

• Do NOT use canned chickpeas to make falafels.

• You can shape and freeze falafels and keep them. Thaw for about 10 mins and fry as needed.

• I have air-fried the falafels but they dried out so I don’t recommend it.

• Frying them in hot oil helps keep them crispy and not dry out.

• When shaping do not squeeze out too much. You want the water content to stay in the falafels.

• Herb stems add flavor so I like to use them!