2 cups of dried chickpeas soaked overnight (not canned chickpeas)
½ tsp baking soda
3 Tbsp of Maani’s Curried Chickpea Spice Blend
Salt and Pepper to taste
Oil for frying
1 onion chopped
4 cloves of garlic chopped
2 green chili’s or jalapeno
½ cup fresh dill chopped
1 cup of fresh parsley chopped
1 cup of fresh cilantro chopped
1 tsp of baking powder
Instructions
- One day in advance – place the dried chickpeas and baking soda in a large bowl filled with water to cover the chickpeas by at least 2 inches. Soak overnight and when they are a bit soft, drain the chickpeas completely and pat them dry.
- Add the chickpeas, herbs, onions, garlic and spices to a food processor and run the food processor until the mixture is well combined.
- Transfer the falafel mixture to a container and cover tightly and place in the fridge for at least an hour or overnight.
- Just before you want to fry the falafels add the baking powder and mix it in with a large spoon.
- Scoop a full tablespoon of the falafel mixture and form into small balls or patties.
- Heat a medium saucepan with oil over medium high heat and carefully drop in the falafel patties in the oil and fry for 5 minutes until dark brown outside.
- Serve the falafel hot and serve them in a pita bread with tahini sauce or hummus, arugula, tomato and cucumbers. Or you can also dip these into a cilantro yogurt sauce.
Cilantro Yogurt Sauce
½ small onion chopped
2 cups of chopped cilantro
2 cups nonfat yogurt
4 Tbsp fresh mint chopped
3 Tbsp of lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
Combine everything together and mix to make a smooth yogurt sauce.
Tahini Sauce
1 clove of garlic chopped
½ tsp of salt
¾ cup of tahini paste
½ cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
¼ cup of cold water
1 cup fresh parsley with stems removed
Mix all of these ingredients into a food processor and blend, if it’s too thick just add water till you reach the desired consistency.