Authentic Falafel Recipe with Tahini Sauce and Homemade Pita Bread
How to make authentic Falafel from scratch using soaked chickpeas (not canned) with Homemade Pita, Creamy Tahini Sauce, Pickled Turnips, Cucumber Yogurt Sauce *Chickpeas need 10-24 hours of soaking time. Makes 10 Falafels (I highly recommend making a double batch of the falafels!)
- Prep Time: 12 hours
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 12 hours 30 minutes
- Yield: 3-4
- Category: vegan, main, gluten-free
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: Middle Eastern
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
Falafel Recipe
- 3/4 cup dry chickpeas (yields 2 cups soaked), soaked overnight
- 1 cup cilantro (stems ok) or sub-Italian parsley
- ½ cup white or yellow onion, rough chopped
- 3 large garlic cloves
- 1/2 a jalapeno, seeds ok ( add the entire thing if you want a little kick)
- 1 tablespoon Coriander
- 1 tablespoon Cumin
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt (add more to taste)
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- high heat oil for frying, or spray oil for baking
Middle Eastern Pickled Turnips
- 2 medium turnips, peeled and thinly sliced.
- 2– 3 slices of a small red beet, ( optional, for color)
- ½ thinly sliced onion
- 2 sliced garlic cloves
- 3/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp sugar
- Additions: peppercorns, coriander seeds, mustard seeds, dill ( all optional)
Creamy Tahini Sauce: ( Or try this vegan Tahini Sauce!)
- 3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup tahini paste
- 1–2 garlic cloves
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- cracked pepper
- Juice of one medium lemon
Instructions
- Soak 3/4 cup dry chickpeas in a bowl of cold water on the counter for 10- 12 hours or up to 24 hours hours. They will swell into 2 cups. Place in a strainer, letting them drain WELL, and pat dry with a towel for extra dryness. (Wet chickpeas will be more difficult to fry.)
- Measure 2 cups of the soaked, uncooked chickpeas and place in a food processor and pulse repeatedly along with the onion, garlic, cilantro, chili, salt spices, baking soda, and olive oil, scraping down sides, until it is well blended but still coarse like sand. Don’t overwork it- this should not be smooth, but rather quite coarse and granular. Place falafel dough in the fridge for 20 minutes.
- Preheat oven (or toaster oven) to 400F.
- Using damp hands, form round, golf ball-sized balls in your hands compressing tightly into balls. Teh compression here will help bind them. If they feel very wet, feel free to lightly dredge in flour if you like. (I usually don’t, even when wet!).
- In a non-stick pan or well-seasoned cast iron skillet, heat a ¼ inch of “high-heat” oil on med-high heat until it sizzles when a pea-sized portion of falafel is dropped in.
- Turn heat to medium. Place them carefully in the hot oil, ( they are fragile but should hold together just fine) do not move or mess with them until a deeply golden crust forms (this crust will ensure they naturally release themselves from the pan). Using a thin metal spatula, carefully turn over. Lower heat if necessary. Sear the other side. Each side will take about 3-4 minutes. Cook in batches, not overcrowding. Place falafels in the oven while you cook the remaining falafels to cook them through. Keep them in a warm oven until ready to serve.
- Falafels can be cooked ahead, frigerated, and reheated in the oven. Alternatively, the falafel “dough” can be made ahead, refrigerated, and used throughout the week.
Middle Eastern Pickled Turnips
- Bring all ingredients to a boil in a medium-sized pot, remove from heat, and refrigerate until ready to eat.
Creamy Tahini Sauce:
- Blend all in the food processor, until smooth. This may seem slightly salty, but trust me it works in the big picture when all the components are combined.
Notes
I do not recommend using canned chickpeas.
Try Fava Beans: Feel free to use soaked fava beans- or a combo of both- also delicious!
Baked Falafel: heat oven to 375 F. Place falafel on a greased parchment-lined sheet pan. Brush or spray the tops with olive oil. Bake 12-15 minutes, flip and bake 10-15 more minutes or until golden. These can be cooled and frozen.
Meal Prep The falafel mixture can be kept in the refrigerator, and pan-seared “to order”. For example, I’ll often make a double batch and just store the bowl of falafel mix in the fridge for the week, pan-searing as needed.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 falafels
- Calories: 366
- Sugar: 5.8 g
- Sodium: 637.6 mg
- Fat: 10 g
- Saturated Fat: 5.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 59.8 g
- Fiber: 7.3 g
- Protein: 14.8 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
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