What is falafel?
Wiki says that falafel is a common dish eaten throughout the Middle East. The fritters are now found around the world as a replacement for meat and as a form of street food.
Wiki talks about the chickpeas not being cooked before making falafel, which leads me to wonder if we could make them with gram flour?
The word Falafel is derived from a diminutive form of the Arabic word ṭaʿām (طعام, “food”); the particular form indicates “a unit” of the given root in this case Ṭ-ʕ-M (ط ع م, having to do with taste and food), thus meaning “a little piece of food” or “small tasty thing”.
The origin of falafel is unknown and controversial. A common theory being that the dish originated in Egypt
Falafel is made from fava beans or chickpeas, or a combination. Chickpeas are common in most Middle Eastern countries. The dish is usually made with chickpeas in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel and Palestine. This version is the most popular in the West. The Egyptian variety uses only fava beans.
When chickpeas are used, they are not cooked prior to use (cooking the chickpeas will cause the falafel to fall apart, requiring adding some flour to use as a binder). Instead they are soaked (sometimes with baking soda) overnight, then ground together with various ingredients such as parsley, scallions, and garlic. Spices such as cumin and coriander are often added to the beans for added flavor. The dried fava beans are soaked in water and then stone ground with leek, parsley, green coriander, cumin and dry coriander. The mixture is shaped into balls or patties. This can be done by hand or with a tool called an aleb falafel (falafel mould). The mixture is usually deep fried, or it can be oven baked.
When not served alone, falafel is often served with flat or unleavened bread when it is wrapped within lafa or stuffed in a hollow pita. Tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, and other garnishes can be added. Falafel is commonly accompanied by tahini.
Falafel is typically ball-shaped, but is sometimes made in other shapes, particularly doughnut-shaped. The inside of falafel may be green (from green herbs such as parsley or green onion), or tan.
Falafel with Hummus
The combination of Falafel & Sun Dried Tomato Hummus couldn’t be more classic, other than the addition of the tomatoes, which, by the way, are completely optional. If you’re looking for a falafel recipe, this is a really easy one
Once you have tried making falafel and hummus, if you haven’t already, you can explore many different ways of flavouring them
Different flavours for falafel and hummus
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Leave out the sun dried tomatoes, the hummus is fine without. Add a little dollop of tahini or peanut butter if you have it plain, but it’s optional. Or drizzle a little tahini, let down with water, over the top of the pitta or wrap
There are a great many other flavouring options, anything that you flavour hummus with, can also be used to flavour falafel. Sticking with tomato, you can add a big squirt of tomato puree. Or whizz in some cooked beetroot, carrot or onion. Add some chutney, I particularly like Patak’s Brinjal (Aubergine) pickle
If you have falafel and hummus, how about some of these combinations
- beetroot falafel and onion hummus
- carrot falafel and feta hummus
- pea falafel and sweetcorn hummus
Your possible combinations are endless – experiment, try it and see if you like it!
Is hummus vegan?
Yes it is. Hummus ingredients are chickpeas, either from a can, or dried, soaked and cooked; tahini; olive oil; lemon zest and juice. This recipe with sun dried tomatoes just has the tomatoes added and whizzed in. Gorgeous on toast!
Falafel and hummus
Such a lovely combination, whether you enjoy them in the traditional manner with pitta and salad, in a sandwich, on their own, or any other way you like them.
To reduce the cost even further, you can make your own pitta, quite possibly easier than you think
Or you could have a falafel and hummus wrap, pretty easy to make, and super cheap
Ingredients
Falafel
- 250 g chickpeas cooked, equivalent of a tin
- 100 g onion chopped
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp ground coriander
- flour for dusting
- 2 tblsp oil for frying
Hummus
- 250 g chickpeas cooked, equivalent of a tin
- 125 ml olive oil
- 1 lemon zest and a squeeze of juice
- 1 clove garlic or equivalent from tube etc
- 5 sun dried tomatoes soaked if the dry ones
To Serve
- 4 pitta
Instructions
Falafel
- Put all Falafel ingredients in a food processer and blitz until thoroughly combined
- Remove bowl from base and scooping a tablespoon or so of mixture into your hand, form in to falalfel shapes. Repeat with all the mixture
- Place the frying pan on the heat and drizzle in the oil
- Tip some flour onto a chopping board, plate etc
- Take each falafel, dust with the flour and place in frying pan. Repeat for all falafel
- Gently cook for a few minutes, flip over and cook the other side
Hummus
- If the dried tomatoes are of the hard and dry variety and not from a jar, place in a small bowl with a little water to re-hydrate
- Put all hummus ingredients into the processor, including the tomatoes, excluding the soaking water
- Blitz until homogenised and smooth
No Food Processor?
- If you have a stick blender, that will make a pretty good job. Even a liquidiser at a push. None of those? See below
- Falafel - put the chick peas in a mixing bowl and mash with a fork.
- Chop the onion as fine as you can get it
- Add all ingredients to the chick pea bowl and mix everything very well. Continue as above
- Hummus - put the chick peas in a mixing bowl and mash with a fork.
- Chop the sun dried tomatoes as finely as you can get them
- Add all ingredients to the chick pea bowl and mix everything very well. Continue as above
Equipment Needed
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