Falafel

Instructions

Dough

1. Cover the chickpeas in a bowl with plenty of water and leave to soak overnight. Canned chickpeas are not an alternative as they are pre-cooked and have lost their binding effect.
2. Wash the chickpeas in a sieve and pick out any chickpeas that stand out (soft, green, ...)
3. In a food processor or similar wide blender, first add the parsley, coriander, then the chilli (roughly chopped), onion (also roughly chopped) and garlic cloves. Now add the chickpeas so that they push the lighter things into the blades and create a homogeneous mixture.
4. Chop the mixture in 10 second pulses and then always scrape down from the pan to ensure even chopping.
5. Take care not to crush the mixture too little or too much. The mixture is just right as soon as it holds together without cracking after a little squeezing and your hand is wet. In addition, if you drop the falafel dough onto a wooden board ~20 cm long, it should still be able to come away cleanly from the board in one piece.
6. After this step, you could freeze the mixture and fry it at a later date.

Frying

1. Only now should you season the mixture. Add salt, cumin, coriander and a little cayenne to the mixture. Optional, but sesame seeds also work very well here.
2. Now heat plenty of oil (> 1 litre) of frying oil in a pan until bubbles rise from a wooden stick placed in the oil.
3. Whilst the oil is heating up, you can shape the falafel. They should be slightly larger than the size of a walnut.
4. Fry the falafel carefully in a few batches until nicely browned and floating on the oil.
5. Leave to cool slightly on some kitchen paper. Best served with aioli and salad.