My first introduction to falafel was almost 25 years before. I had just moved to Sweden and missed Indian food and the indian weather. I landed in Sweden on a sunny, warm (according to the Swedes) day. I spent much of that winter wearing a bright blue ski jacket. I realized that year that sunny does not equal to warm. I slowly got to love the weather, eating ice cream when it is cold; best time to eat icecream as it will not melt. In those days there were no indian stores and one indian restaurant which served really bad indian food. We did find a middle eastern place serving falafels and for me the closest I could get to masala vada. Over the years, I have eaten some really good falafel around the world, some of the best at Oasis, a small eatery in Iowa City. I have been making falafels forever. I usually serve it with hummus, baba ganoush, some salad and pita bread. Stuff the pita bread with some lettuce, falafel, baba ganoush and hummus and you have a hearty sandwich. I tried a new recipe for baba ganoush which was really good. Stay tuned for the recipe. You can use the leftover batter, if you have any, to make a vegan burger ; add some veggies and shape it like a burger and fry or grill.

I have at times decided to go healthy and bake the falafel. Oil a baking pan, place falafels (flatten slightly) on pan, drizzle oil and bake at 375ºF (190ºC) for 20-25 minutes, flipping the falafel halfway through the baking time. They are quite good but I much prefer the fried ones of course.

Ingredients

• 1 cup dry garbanzo beans/ chickpeas
• 2-3 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp coriander powder
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 serrano or jalapeno pepper (optional)
• 1/4 tsp-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper/red chilli powder
• 1-2 tbsp garbanzo bean flour/chickpea flour/ besan or all purpose flour- use garbanzo bean flour for gluten free option
• 1 small bunch coriander/cilantro or parsley leaves
• 1/4 tsp baking soda (optional)
• salt to taste
• vegetable/ canola oil to fry

Directions

• Soak chickpeas for 12 hours in water. Make sure there is at least 3 inches of water above the chickpeas as they will double in size
• Drain and rinse chickpeas
• Pour chickpeas in a food processor/mixer and blend with the garlic, cumin powder, coriander powder, seranno chilli, cayenne pepper. Add a tbsp of water if required. Add onions, cilantro/parsley and pulse till the texture is like sand
• Place in a bowl. Add salt and 1 tbsp garbanzo bean flour and mix. You should be able to make balls and it should not fall apart. If it does, add another tbsp of flour and mix
• If you have time, refrigerate for an hour or two
• At this point you could add baking soda to make the falafel fluffy
• Heat oil in a wok or pan to around 350ºF. I just drop a small ball of falafel to the oil, if it rises the oil is ready to fry. If not, heat oil for some more time
• Once the small piece is fried, taste for salt. Add salt if required
• Make balls and fry in batches of 5-6 till golden brown. Some of them I dipped in sesame seeds for a different texture and taste
• Drain on a paper towel
• Serve hot as an appetizer or as a complete meal with pita, hummus, baba ganoush and salad.

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