This meal is wonderful and colorful! It has a pleasant sweet flavor and is quite simple to create.
| Prep Time: | 25 mins |
| Cook Time: | 7 mins |
| Total Time: | 32 mins |
| Servings: | 6 |
| Yield: | 6 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 (19 ounce) can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 ½ tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- ⅛ teaspoon ground turmeric
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup fine dry bread crumbs
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon cracked black peppercorns
- 1 quart vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
- Mash the garbanzo beans in a large bowl. Stir in the onion, garlic, cilantro, parsley, cumin, turmeric, baking powder, bread crumbs, salt and pepper. Do not be afraid to use your hands. Shape the mixture into 1 1/2 inch balls; you should get 18 to 24. If the mixture does not hold together, add a little water.
- Heat the oil in a deep fryer to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Carefully drop the balls into the hot oil, and fry until brown. If you do not have a deep fryer, heat the oil in a heavy deep skillet over medium-high heat. You may need to adjust the heat slightly after the first couple of falafels, and be sure to turn frequently so they brown evenly.
- We have determined the nutritional value of oil for frying based on a retention value of 10% after cooking. The exact amount will vary depending on cooking time and temperature, ingredient density, and the specific type of oil used.
Reviews
Didn’t work for me at all. I followed the directions exactly and they fell apart in the fryer.
I liked this as a base to start off with, but like some others I added an egg for binding purposes. I didn’t have fresh cilantro so I used dried. I think that might affected the color and taste (I’m used to falafel being very green), but these were still tasty and everyone who ate them loved them. I’ll probably make this again when I’m craving it, but will use fresh cilantro next time.
i put only one garlic and yes of course i will do it again
Will definitely make this again. Only change I made was to use curry instead of cumin (I was out of cumin) and added an egg and a little water. Delicious!
The flavor is fantastic in this recipe! The mixture was dry so I did add a little water per the recipe and that helped it to stick. The first batch I made turned out great, the second was much lighter in color and slightly fell apart. The third and final batch completely fell apart and became mush. Instead of falafel pitas, I made a falafel-esque salad with lettuce, tomatoes, tzatziki sauce and the “mush.” Still tasted great. I’ll try baking it next time like a few reviews suggested.
These are SOOOOOOOOO good!!! I did have to add water to make them stick together and probably should have used more than I did because they were a little on the crumbly side after cooking but still WOW!!
I followed the recipe and when I put them in my deep fryer, they completely disintegrated and the crumbs burned in the fryer. I threw them out and am making pasta instead. They need eggs as a binding agent.
Loved this, with a few modifications. First I used my food processor and added an egg. It was still a little dry, so I did add a little olive oil to get it to blend. Next time, I’ll add 2 eggs as I’d prefer the moisture come from them. The flavor is outstanding!
The falafels tasted quite good, but no matter what I tried, the balls fell apart in the fryer. I lost quite a bit because of that. I would love suggestions on how to make the falafel balls hold together while frying.
Excellent! Mine held together quite well even though I didn’t need all the bread crumbs. I did use gluten free ones, though. Thank you for the recipe.
This was very good. I added an egg as others have suggested and pan fried it. YUM!
I added a couple of eggs instead of water. YUM!
They’re delicious!!! Not too many ingredients and they’ll satisfy your Mediterranean cravings!
I’ve used this recipe multiple times and love it. I usually add one egg so it doesn’t fall apart when frying. I omit the baking powder because I thought that was the culprit in my oil bubbling over (only happens towards the last two batches of frying). But it wasn’t the baking powder. Anyhow, this is an awesome recipe! Thanks for sharing!!!
Very good, and I’m Greek, so I know good Mediterranean food. However, I baked them at 400F for 30 minutes instead of frying them. They came out great, crispy on the outside, soft on the inside. Served them on a warm pita with homemade tzatziki, tomatoes, cucumbers. When blending in the food processor, I added the beans last, then mixed at high speed until the mix started to get hot and clump together. I think this is the trick to make them stay together and not fall apart.
I made this just because I had a lot of garbanzo beans (which I hate) and bread crumbs. It is amazing! this will now be a staple in my house.
Easy and delicious! I added an egg and a little water for moisture. As long as the oil is hot, you will get a nice crust! Thanks for the recipe!
I made this twice. First I deep fried them and most just fell apart. I tried to fry them on the skillet and those too fell apart. So I read some reviews and then added one egg and dipped them in flour before frying on a skillet. Success. I did include tumeric and red crushed pepper and cayenne pepper.
I followed the recipe exactly, no substitutions. It was wonderful! I gave it a four because it fell apart while cooking. I will make these again!!
The flavour is great, but if the oil temperature drops even a little bit, they disintegrate in the pan. Good in theory, but needs a binder like egg to keep them together
Taste is good but completely falls apart once it hits hot oil. Once I saw that was hapening, I started using wet hands to make the balls and then coating with a dusting of flour to get it to hold its shape in the oil and that seemed to help the balls retain their shape.