Chickpea bites (Falafel)
Being international hummus day today, falafel is the perfect healthy and delicious little bites. This snack is ideal for vegetarians, with the chickpeas being a good source of protein. These deep-fried balls, made from chickpeas, herbs and spices is a well-known Middle Eastern dish. I love dipping in flour, egg and crumbs for a crisp eat.
Makes about 16, depending on size
400 g can chickpeas, drained
4 cloves garlic
½ red onion, chopped
15 ml (1 Tbsp) freshly chopped parsley or 5 ml (1 tsp) dried
8 ml (1½ tsp) ground cumin
5 ml (1 tsp) ground coriander
60 ml (¼ cup) cake flour
30 ml (2 Tbsp) fresh lemon juice
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
cooking oil for shallow-frying
60 ml (¼ cup) cake flour for coating
2 extra-large eggs, beaten
200 ml (¾ cup) dried bread crumbs for coating
1. Use a hand blender or in a food processor and combine chickpeas, garlic, onion, parsley, cumin, coriander and cake flour. Mix until almost fine and blended together.
2. Shape into balls. Roll in flour, dip in beaten egg and roll into bread crumbs until coated well. Refrigerate or freeze for about 30 minutes to firm up and keep shapes.
3. Heat oil in a large, heavy-based frying pan and fry until golden brown, about 3 – 4 minutes. Remove from pan and drain on paper towel. Serve immediately with yogurt sauce or any other salad dressing of choice.
Tip
If you like, dip in a yoghurt sauce. Mix together;
125 ml (½ cup) plain unflavoured yoghurt, 30 ml (2 Tbsp) fresh lemon juice,
5 ml (1 tsp) grated lemon rind and herbs of choice. Mix until smooth and drizzle over balls.
Hint
The chickpeas also acts as binder, so you do not need eggs.