Crispy Baked Falafel
Amidst the lockdown due to the pandemic along with the city wide curfew due to the looting and violence, we have been home bound and trying to stay positive by taking care of our mental health as well as physical. After a nice sweaty sunday run, hubs & I planned on making us an elaborate Mediterranean meal - well elaborate in our terms :)
My go-to would've been some marinated chicken but I've been looking to completely eliminate meat from my diet, so I had to think about learning to make Falafels! I've always thought falafels would be hard to make - likely very elaborate and oily and such. BUT, I had to get creative today and I'm so glad I did! These Baked falafels turned out fantastic - seriously!!
INGREDIENTS
1 cup dry chickpeas (not canned)
1/2 onion (chopped)
1/2 jalapeno or green chilli (chopped)
5 Garlic cloves (chopped)
1/2 lime – juiced
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Black Pepper
1/2 tsp Red chilli powder
1 tsp Cumin
1 tsp Coriander
1/4 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 cup Parsley
1/2 cup Cilantro
1-2 tbsp Olive oil
DIRECTIONS
Soak the Chickpeas in water with some salt for 8 hrs (min)
First chop Onion, Jalapeno & Garlic and keep aside
In a Food Processor or Blender, add (in this order):
Olive oil, Lime juice, Cilantro & Parsley
Add the soaked & dried chickpeas
Add chopped Onion, Jalapeno & Garlic mix
Add the remaining ingredients
PULSE for 2-4 mins until all the ingredients are mixed (do not blend, we are not looking to puree)
Scoop out the falafel mix into a bowl
Preheat the oven to 400F
Take a small scoop (like ice cream scoop) to scoop up some dough
Make a ball in your palms and place on greased baking sheet
After placing the balls on the sheet, sprinkle generously some olive oil across all the balls (don’t skip this step)
Place in the oven for 30 mins
After 30 mins, open the oven and rotate the balls so they cook evenly
Place back in oven for another 30 mins
After 1 hr in total, take out the baking pan and let the falafels cool.
They should be crispy, firm and hold up their shape well!
Its seriously a super easy and healthy way to cook Falafels – and these were a SUPER hit!
Don’t forget to serve with a side of Tahini Sauce & Tzatziki sauce -> check out my blog on how to make these dressings in minutes!