Falafel is a delicious Middle Eastern dish of small chickpea balls fried with herbs and spices. It is crispy on the outside and remains nice and soft in the middle.

Chickpeas are a good source of fiber, protein, folate, Vitamin C, vitamin B6 and zinc.

Although the falafels contain healthy ingredients, they are deep fried, so it is advised to eat them only occasionally. However, it is possible to shallow fry or oven-bake the falafels, but we have not tried to cook them this way yet so we don't know how they will turn out.

Ingredients

• 500ml (2 cups) dried chickpeas (canned chickpeas can be used instead)
• 1 medium onion
• 2-3 cloves garlic
• 2-3 slices stale bread
• 50 ml (1/4 cup parsley
• 1/3 sweet red pepper
• 10 ml (2 tsp) salt
• 3 ml (3/4 tsp) black pepper
• 10 ml (2 tsp) cumin
• 10 ml (2 tsp) ground coriander
• 5 ml (1 tsp) red hot pepper flakes
• 10 ml (2 tsp) plain flour
• 10 ml (2 tsp) baking powder
• 50 ml (1/4 cup) water
• oil for deep frying

Preparation

• Place chickpeas in a large bowl, cover generously with water and soak overnight.

• Drain chickpeas. In a food processor add chickpeas, onion, garlic, parsley and sweet red pepper. Process until all ingredients are ground and combined well.

• Add the spices, flour, baking powder and water. Mix well.

• Form small balls of the chickpea mixture, moistening your hands with water if required, and flatten them slightly.

• Deep fry in oil on a medium heat until golden brown.

Serving Suggestions

Serve piping hot with pitta bread, topped with salad and hummus (for a great hummus recipe check out our Sprouted Chickpea hummus).