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An easy Falafel recipeIt’s very easy to make falafel. You should try that.

Falafel  – as oppose to hummus (recipe) – is very easy to make, and with a little effort is needed so it wouldcome out great. In case you don’t know what it is – falafel is the second most popular chick pea (garbanzo been)dish. A small, crunchy, chick pea burger which tastes delicious.

Of course, you can always use instant powders like the ones usually shown below:

This recipe that I’m going to share with you, is for Arabic falafel, which is very different from the Turkishfalafel that you can find in some European cities (I ate some in Berlin). I think it’s much better.

The Turkish falafel is served in a toasted bread, with some salads and spicy sauces. In Israel, as well as most ofthe Arab countries, we eat the falafel inside a pita bread, with vegetable salad, pickles, French fries and Tahini.You should try that.

The Ingredients:(25 falafel balls)2 cups of dries chickpeas, soaked in water for 12 hoursCrumbs from 2 slices of white bread5 cloves of garlic2 teaspoon baking soda1/3 cup chopped parsley1/2 cup chopped coriander1/2 small onion1 spoon of sesame seeds1 teaspoon cumin spice1 teaspoon paprikaSalt, pepperOil for deep frying

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Preparation:1. Wash the soaked chickpeas and put them in a food processor with the garlic, onion and spices. Grind untilyou get a rough moist texture. Add a little water if needed.2. Move the mixture into a large bowl, add the rest of the ingredients and put aside, covered, for 30-60 minutes.3. Warm the oil – it should be hot, not boiling. Add the baking soda to the mixture and knead a little.4. Wet your hands and shape little balls (smaller then apricots). Fry until you get a deep brown shade. Servehot!

Want more recipes? try out:

A Quick Tahini Recipe.Arbis: the ultimate chickpea snackA hummus recipe (and Hummus recipe 2.0)

And when you are done cocking, you can always try “The Falafel king Game“…

March 13, 2007 | Filed Under All Recipes, Falafel & Pita, The Science of Chickpea | Tags: Tags: chickpeas,Falafel & Pita, Israeli, recipe

Comments

91 Responses to “An easy Falafel recipe”

1. Shahar Even-Dar Mandel on March 18th, 2007 12:45 am

Shuki,The new English blog is a great idea, and it rocks. I hope it won’t take too much of your attention andreplace the Hebrew one.Anyway there’s a small but rather important comment I must make at this specific post. Using a foodprocessor to make falafel is fine if you have no other choice, but it is much better to use a meat grinder toproduce a rougher texture for the falafel mixture, this way you get the great crispy and granular effect thatis lost by using a food processor which gives a creamier mixture and makes the falafel balls a bit too

Related

Falafel fact sheet Inside the Israeli Pita Are Falafel and Tahini nutritious too?May 31, 2007In "Falafel & Pita"

February 11, 2008In "Falafel & Pita"

September 11, 2007In "Falafel & Pita"

7/31/2015 Best Falafel Recipe EVER | THE HUMMUS BLOG

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dense.Good luck with the blog, and keep spreading the gospel to the world.

2. Jewlicious » Blog Archive » The blogosphere’s saving grace. on April 11th, 2007 7:28 pm

[…] Endeavoring to shed light on the glory that is hummus is the very first Israeli blog devoted entirely tohummus, Hummus 101, which comes in both Hebrew and English versions. The brainchild of a mannamed only Abu Shuki ha-Mekori, a cute reference to the flagship hummusiyyot of Abu Ghosh (there aretwo, across the street from each other, and both are named “The Original Abu Shukri”), Hummus 101 (or“Hummus for the Masses” in Hebrew) offers scholarly treatises on hummus’ health value and excellentrecipes for both falafel and hummus for those deprived non-Israelis who don’t have access to the genuinearticle. And everyone in Israel, of course, has a favorite hummusiyya – mine is Ta’ami on ShammaiStreet, where the owner Moti knows me well enough that all I have to do is walk in and he presents myregular order (hummus fuul with falafel) without even asking – but Hummus 101 aims to broadeneveryone’s horizons with accounts of field trips to hummusiyyot both famous and obscure, and even afew completely inexplicable (Israel’s first Yiddishe hummusiyya). […]

3. Jackie on April 12th, 2007 10:12 pm

Thanks for the recipe, I just love falafel but can’t buy them at take-aways as never sure whether they areVegan or not, so need to make my own.

4. Courtney on April 25th, 2007 11:05 pm

I have been looking for a great recipe for falafel for a while now, I am so glad I came across your blog!Sounds like the best recipe so far… I live in Florida where it is rare to come across a restaurant thatserves falafel, I have been craving this falafel for about a year now and I have never gotten to try it yet, itdriving me crazy so I’m going home tonight and making them! Mabye I can send you a picture!!

G-d Bless and keep up with the great recipes!

Shalom!

Courntey

5. shooky on April 26th, 2007 1:04 am

Courtney – please do (send a pic, that is).If the falafel still don’t come out like you wanted, tell us what was wrong with it and we might have sometips that would help.Good luck!

6. fatma+ on May 2nd, 2007 5:53 am

Thanks alot for the Falfel recipe which I was trying in different places and at last I found the best, easyand perfect one from you. Many thanks and hope you keep up with the good recipesFatma

7. shooky on May 3rd, 2007 12:19 am

Fatma –Pleased to hear that you liked the recipe. We’re always happy to be useful…More recipes to come.

8. marie on May 4th, 2007 6:57 pm

Hi,

I found this recipe and tried to making my own falafel. The taste was good but the balls fell apart in theoil. Do you have any idea why this happened?

7/31/2015 Best Falafel Recipe EVER | THE HUMMUS BLOG

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Marie

9. shooky on May 4th, 2007 9:39 pm

Hi Marry,I don’t know the problem, but it sounds like there was too much moisture and/or the onions weren’t finelychopped.

The mixture should be rather thick and almost homogeneous, and should left aside enough time for thechickpeas and bread to observe the liquids.

Also, you should roll the falafel balls with your hands until it becomes round and stable. Use hot oil.Goodluck.

10. Falafel fact sheet | The Hummus Blog on May 31st, 2007 10:56 pm

[…] else – some say it was invented by the ancient Egyptians. What is falafel made of? There’s a falafelrecipe here which you can check for yourself and see. To make long things short: soaked chickpeas, […]

11. Vegan Meal: Falafel | Elaine Vigneault’s Diary on June 28th, 2007 1:41 pm

[…] An easy Falafel recipe […]

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[…] An Easy Falafel Recipe […]

13. Pierre on August 17th, 2007 9:25 pm

I was a volunteer on a Kiibbutz near Binyamina in 1991. There was a little hole in the wall place near bythat made falafel wrapped in freshly made pita. I can’t remember its name, but you had to line up early.Opening time was always the same, but you could never predict closing time. As soon as all freshingredients for that day were used up, it closed. I was, on more than one occasion, one of the manydisappointed patrons to be told that the food was all gone. It was by far the best falafel I have ever eaten.

I love your hummus recipe, next I’ll try the falafel.

Thanks

P.

14. Cassandra on August 17th, 2007 10:40 pm

This looks great! I also love falafel and hummus, and currently live in Serbia where these delicacies arealmost impossible to find! Now that I have dried chickpeas I am ready to try my own.

Have you ever tried baking them? Maybe not authentic, but a little lighter. Just not sure they would getcrispy.

Thanks for the great resource!

15. shooky on August 18th, 2007 12:09 am

Pierre – I don’t know the specific place, but you can find good falafel all over Israel.

Cassandra – You can cook and then bake them. There’s a snack made just like that that is sold in kioskshere.Also, try the Arbis recipe:http://humus101.com/EN/2007/03/14/arbis-the-ultimate-chick-pea-snack/

BTW, you can find all the ingredients needed for the recipes here in our aStorehttp://astore.amazon.com/hummus101-20

7/31/2015 Best Falafel Recipe EVER | THE HUMMUS BLOG

http://humus101.com/EN/2007/03/13/an-easy-falafel-recipe/ 6/16

The purchase goes through Amazon and is perfectly safe.

16. Damon on November 19th, 2007 9:57 pm

Just curious, you didn’t mention boiling the chickpeas after soaking them. Was that an oversight or arethe chickpeas really supposed to be raw before going into the oil. I found a video of–surprise surprise–another Israeli demonstrating how to make Falafel, and she boiled the chickpeas the same way yourecommend boiling them for the hummus before making her falafel. So I am at a loss. Shooky, can youstraighten me out?

17. shooky on November 20th, 2007 1:13 am

Damon – no need to cook the chickpeas. Soak, fry, eat – just like the recipe says.

18. Damon on December 4th, 2007 11:41 pm

Despite making a couple of mistakes, these were practically orgasmic. Even my wife loved them and sheisn’t a big falafel fan. Imagine if I had used fresh baked pita.

I did a search of photos on the web and it seems that the most common sandwich ingredients are a littlebit of lettuce, tomato, parsley, onion, and sauce. You mentioned the Tahin sauce of tahin, water, lemonjuice and garlic. I saw one recipe that added a bit of yogurt to the sauce. Is that ever done in Israel?

You also mentioned pickles. Are you referring to pickled cucumbers (kosher pickles in the US) or anotherkind? I also saw some photos with small pickled peperoncini. And do you guys really put french fries inthe sandwich?

Sorry for so many questions but although you may have found Turkish falafel (nohut köftesi) inGermany, in Ankara it’s nowhere to be seen. The hummus has been pretty bad everywhere I have tried itas well. On the up side, the döner, mantı, gözleme, köfte, lahmacun, pide, etc. can be incredible if you getthem from a good place.

Keep up the great work!

19. Christy on January 12th, 2008 11:08 pm

I have a question too. I just went on a trip to Israel in October where I totally got hooked on falafel. Ithink the best one I had was at a small area in the Judean mountains on the way to Jerusalem….the falafelballs were so spicy it made my lips tingle. I’m wondering if this recipe can be used with canned chickpeasinstead of the dried ones soaked. It seems canned is the only way I can find them in my city and I’mreally craving some falafel!

@Damon-yes some places actually do put french fries on top. Two of the places we went to in Jerusalemdid so…one was in the Arab market of the Old City. Forget the exact location of the other one sadly. (Cansee it in my head, but don’t remember the streets) It’s not bad but I favor the ones bursting with the saladmore so.

20. shooky on January 13th, 2008 10:41 am

Dear Christy,Unfortunately, canned chickpeas will not do. They are pre-cooked, and therefore too soft.But you can try our online store (look at the right sidebar). You can find some dried chickpeas there.

21. Diana on January 20th, 2008 12:23 am

My husband loves falafel, but he doesn’t like coriander. Is there a substitute? Also I’ve had falafel with asauce that tasted more like a yogurt base instead of tahini, have you hear of anything like this?

22. shooky on January 20th, 2008 9:33 am

Diana –

7/31/2015 Best Falafel Recipe EVER | THE HUMMUS BLOG

http://humus101.com/EN/2007/03/13/an-easy-falafel-recipe/ 7/16

From my experience, most people do not like coriander, but complain something’s missing when youleave it out. When fried , coriander changes it’s flavor, so chances are you’re hubby won’t know if youwouldn’t tell him. Also, you can use dried ground coriander seeds instead of fresh coriander.

The yogurt sauce you’re talking about is a Turkish sauce. Basically, it’s yogurt with some garlic, lemonand water. Nice, but not hardly as nice as tahini if you want my opinion.

23. Adele on January 28th, 2008 7:24 pm

I am soooo glad I found this site! I spent a few weeks in Abu Dhabi and had the most romantic times atThe Libanese Flower. I fell head over heals in love with their falafel. However, back in Namibia(Southern Africa!) it is almost impossible to find anything close to it. I can’t wait to try out this recipe!Will let you know how it was and I’ll keep on trying if mine also falls apart!

24. Inside the Israeli Pita » The Hummus Blog on February 11th, 2008 1:55 am

[…] is easy to make (recipe), it’s ingredients are very basic and cheep, and so the poor yet delicious“falafel […]

25. Sarah on August 13th, 2008 6:38 pm

I am going to try this tonight. I work at a cafe and we serve falafel but it is made from a powder – ick! Iwill post results.

Peace.

26. Paula on October 30th, 2008 7:32 pm

Great recipes!! I’d been looking for a recipe for a while, and all used canned chick peas, which I’magainst. So thanks for that! Now, my doctor just put me on a gluten free diet, and I thought Falafel wouldbe a good option – but it uses bread (= wheat) Do you know a way to replace the 2 bread slices so I couldturn it gluten free? Maybe using rye bread instead? I don’t know.. please help, I love falafel!! Thanks!

27. Peter on November 14th, 2008 2:39 am

I had the same problem as Marie 4 May 2007. The balls fell apart in the oil. My wife was amused as thishas happened everytime she has tried to make falafel. Can you believe that? I think the problem was toomuch moisture. I was very dissapointed.

Pete R

28. Bec on November 14th, 2008 7:41 am

I reckon broad beans (fava beans) make the best falafels!! I use a combination of them and chickpeas –superb! And I was interested to read (in the comments above) that canned chickpeas are pre-cooked andtherefore too soft to use – a very good point! I have always thought canned chickpeas make the falafelstoo soft – great tip! Thanks!

29. David Roberts on December 29th, 2008 5:48 am

Have you tried using fava beans? Or the two together? Fava’s need to be pre- cooked in most of myexperiences, unlike the garbanzo. I like the flavor of both I just wondered if someone had a mixing ratio.Thanks,Dave in mexico

30. caroline wigley on April 28th, 2009 9:52 pm

Hi, thanks so much for your recipe. I have a cafe in Bangor, North Wales (Blue Sky) and we have anongoing debate about the best falafel recipe. We have tried lots and yours is the best, and the simplest! Icompletely agree about the dried chickpeas; it doesn’t work with canned chickpeas. We soak ours for 24hours and then prick some holes in them with a fork before frying. Thanks!

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31. Rob on May 30th, 2009 11:31 am

I am eager to try our recipe. I was in Israel a few weeks ago and I am longing or falafels and swarmaThe best falafels in pita bread also came with chips on tip were in Ben Yehuda street in Jerusalem -I thinkthe place was called Musaka.Shalom

32. Maribel on August 11th, 2009 7:01 pm

Hi guys,I love chickpeas in all their possible cooked forms.Some weeks ago I tried delicious humus and superb falafel in a little vegetarian place in Copenhagen.Since then I have been wondering were to find a good recipe to make them myself.I was lucky today and found you!!!My chickpeas are already in water. We´ll see tomorrow.

Love and peace.

33. Anna on November 29th, 2009 10:13 am

Hi all,

I love falafels but I am gluten intolerant and so cannot eate the bread crumbs. Do you have a subsitute forthe bread crumbs?

Thanks

Anna

34. shooky on December 1st, 2009 1:42 pm

Hi Anna,You can skip the bread crumbs if you you use an old style meat grinder, or an equivalent. It will make themixture more rough (you may need to keep it on the fridge for a little longer) which will allow more air toget in and help the falafel burgers inflate better. That’s what the bread crumbs usually does.Good luck!

35. marja on December 3rd, 2009 11:35 am

I made the falafel yesterday, and they were very good, but a little to dry. How can I mke them a bit morejuicy?Instead of 2 slices of bread I used a half slice of bread and 1 spoon of flour.( there was no more bread;) Ialso skipped the baking soda and sesame seeds, was it because of that?They were really firm balls and didn’t fell apart!

36. Melanie on December 20th, 2009 6:16 pm

I can’t wait to try your recipes! I spent 6 months in Israel and sooo miss falafel! My personal hummusrecipe is lacking and can’t wait to try yours! Now if I could just import Jerusalem, the Dead Sea and thecoral reef in Elat to Greece… OR I just need to visit Israel again!

37. Zumaque on December 23rd, 2009 3:03 pm

Thanks! I also have a question for you. This is the first recipe which uses paprika. What do you suggest?Sweet? Hot?

[Since I’m talking about paprika, I’d like to recommend the smoked Spanish version, pimentón. The bestcomes from La Vera, in Extremadura — if you ever buy it at all from a foreign country, it’s reallyimportant to check the origin. Not that others are bad, but the La Vera pimentón is wonderful.]

38. Rids on February 2nd, 2010 4:53 am

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thanks for sharing the recipe.both hummus n falafel came out grt.just that my falafel did not come out very crisp, so i checked the recipe again n realized that i had to payattention to the grinding of the chickpeas. i ground it to a paste which affected the texture later.next time i’ll have to be careful about the processing bit.

but, the taste was great!i’ll try it again soon!

39. Damon on February 23rd, 2010 1:11 pm

Shooky,

You mentioned being able to substitute ground coriander seeds for fresh coriander. As I cannot find freshcoriander, can you give me an idea of how much ground coriander to use? תודה רבה

40. Knit, Knit, Knit, with a little bit of cooking. « craftedKim's Blog on April 25th, 2010 7:01 pm

[…] main dish I was looking to cook was Falafel.  Now falafel should be relatively easy to make, but forme this was not the case.  I am not […]

41. Jinnie on May 29th, 2010 6:31 pm

Thank you ever so much for posting this recipe! Made these yesterday. YUMMY YUMMY YUMMY!My family wont eat falafel (fussy fussy) but DP and I enjoy it. I made up a batch and froze the remainingballs without frying. I tried cooking some frozen and it left a pea sized bit of frozen mixture in the center.Next time I will thaw them before frying. It’s a great way to have a small batch of ‘fresh’ falafel at lunch.I used my ice-cream style cookie scoop to measure out the mixture.One thing I learned that I thought I might share. Even though I used soaked beans they crumbled to amess in my oil. I discovered the reasons. First off I dont think I was pressing them together tight enoughwhen I shaped them. Secondly I think my hands were too dry. Second batch came out perfect. These littleballs are addictive!

42. Laura on June 4th, 2010 5:10 am

Just wanted to say thank you for the fabulous recipe! After years of failed falafel (which now I realizewere mostly a result of canned/ cooked garbanzo beans) I had given up and started just using the mix. Myfiance loves falafel though, so I did a lot of reading and research finally settling on your recipe. Thetexture was perfect. I used matzo meal because I didnt have any bread. Didnt fall apart (a problem withprevious recipes) and the outside was wonderfully crunchy and delicious! Thank you so much for helpingme learn to make falafel.

43. Shoshana on June 28th, 2010 10:58 pm

To those of you who need to be gluten free, my friend recently made this and used rice cake instead ofbread and it came out wonderful.

44. Gordle on June 29th, 2010 12:01 am

Saying “coriander” in the recipe is a bit ambiguous. Coriander seeds are a dry spice. Coriander leaves arealso known as cilantro, and they taste completely differenc trom the seeds. Coriander roots are used inAsian cuisine. So which is it here? I am guessing seeds, but the recipe should make it clear.

45. Zaid on July 23rd, 2010 9:00 pm

I work at small café in Aurora, IL (SIM SIM KAFE), and I love to eat the food there. However, last weekI got board of eating the same falafel everyday so, I became creative in making falafel stuffed with meat.As I was making it, I share a taste with a customer and now it is a hit among small group of meat /falafellovers. I basically take ground beef and stuff the falafel, then fry it for another few seconds longer. I haveto say it is a hot among few people so far. The only issue with it so far, I can not continue to call itvegetarian meat ball.

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46. shooky on August 21st, 2010 12:27 pm

Zaid – it’s not very common, but you do have places in Israel that add ground meat or fish to their falafel,and personally I think It’s really tasty. Why not send us a picture?

47. shooky on August 21st, 2010 8:37 pm

Gordle – It’s coriander leaves. Some recipes use both the leaves and the seeds, but the leaves aremandatory.

48. Kosherspam on August 22nd, 2010 9:38 pm

Do you have a good yogurt dip to go with this? It just seems so incomplete without one

49. shooky on August 22nd, 2010 10:53 pm

Kosherspam – I think no one eats falafel with yogurt except for Turkish people who make falafel – whichis not usually eaten in Turkey.

50. sana on September 27th, 2010 7:17 am

Hi, Just wanted to say that I made the falafel and they came out perfect. Crispy and delicious!

51. Reuven on October 6th, 2010 4:23 pm

@Zaid and Shooky – Sounds like a variation on Syrian-style Kibbeh, using falafel instead of thetradtional semolina coating …

52. guill on November 24th, 2010 9:41 pm

i tried the recipe tonight and it was fabulous!!! pity the pita i bought were so bad!!! thanks for your blog.tomorrow, i’ll try the hummus recipe

53. Paul on December 8th, 2010 10:53 am

I have just returned from Tel Aviv where, as a vegan, I lived on falafel.The best one I found was on Ben Yahuda. It had a flavour I thought about all week and have just realisedit may have been cardamon. Could this be right?Is cardamon sometimes used or is it another spice.

54. Renee Hartless on December 11th, 2010 2:08 am

Jinnie thanks for the suggestion about wetting your hands before you make the balls and pressing themtight to keep them from falling apart in the oil, THANK-YOU!!! I could not keep them from falling apartnow matter how I altered my mixture: drier, moister, finer, courser… I wet my hands before each pattyand the exterior was divine! This was using the same exact mixture of which the first skillet full crumbledso badly the oil could not be salvaged. Also I made the second batch a little thicker and fried them goodbefore I messed with them.

55. Matt on December 21st, 2010 5:04 am

Tried it tonight and it was great! I had a little trouble keeping it together on a few and had to strain my oil.I forgot the baking soda and they were super fluffy, not as dense as I thought it was going to be. I willmake them again and try to figure out how to keep them together better next time.

56. Heather - Farmgirl Gourmet on January 8th, 2011 5:27 am

I had the same issue as others with the falafel’s falling apart in the oil. I let the bread and ceci mixture sitfor 45 minutes and did not add any extra water. The falafel’s stuck together nicely until they went in theoil where they disintegrated. I was left with very small and squishy patties. Very disappointing and Ishould’ve read the reviews.

7/31/2015 Best Falafel Recipe EVER | THE HUMMUS BLOG

http://humus101.com/EN/2007/03/13/an-easy-falafel-recipe/ 11/16

On another note, the Hummus recipe was fabulous. Everyone enjoyed tremendously. Thanks for yourblog.

57. Rik on January 17th, 2011 12:32 am

Just made this tonight, and it worked like a charm. recommended recipe!

58. shooky on January 22nd, 2011 4:39 am

@Paul – it was probably the flavor of ground fresh coriander.

59. Ancy on January 26th, 2011 12:04 pm

My falafels are disintegrating into the oil when I tried this recipe I was so frustrated coz I was reallyexcited to have this for dinner. Ate cheese omelette and sausages instead and had a nightmare about thefalafels! Why are they falling apart like that???

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62. JM on March 3rd, 2011 2:28 pm

Should the chickpeas still be fairly hard after soaking?

63. Pete on March 6th, 2011 9:59 pm

I’ve seen many recipes and some call for baking soda, some call for baking powder, and so call for noneof the above. I’m confused. :<(

And when you say fresh coriander, I assume you mean fresh cilantro?

Thanks,

Pete

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65. shooky on March 18th, 2011 1:37 pm

yaphttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coriander

66. shooky on March 18th, 2011 1:38 pm

JM – it should be firm but chewable.

67. Bryan on April 27th, 2011 3:04 pm

Are The 2 slices of white bread dried or fresh. And how are you crumbing them by hand or in a foodprocessor . and last but by far not least do you recommend the meat grinder vs food processor

68. shooky on May 21st, 2011 9:49 am

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the bread – doesn’t matter much.meat grinder – much better if you have one, and also makes it possible to make the falafel without anybread at all.

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70. Julia on April 12th, 2012 1:59 am

I am standing in my kitchen almost on the verge of tears. I chose this recipe to make falafel for myhusband’s birthday dinner and they literally disintegrated in the oil while frying. I followed every singleinstruction exactly and all ive ended up with is a big waste of my ingredients. So disappointed becausethe mix had such good flavor. Very very unhappy.

71. Falafel Lover on June 25th, 2012 4:07 pm

Great recipe, delicious! However, the first tell ball i fried fell apart, but after rolling the balls in gramflour before frying, they held perfectly! If you’re non-vegan, a bit of egg can add an extra layer ofdeliciousness to the recipe.

Nice site!

72. Marcin on July 25th, 2012 6:19 pm

I finally did it right I tried to prepare falafel a few times, but they were either falling apart or I had touse eggs and fry them on a pan with a little bit of oil. The reason was the fact that some things are not thatobvious to a person who grew up in Poland and never even tried a falafel. Instead of dried chickpeas Iused the canned ones. Wrong. You CANNOT use canned chickpeas and you CANNOT cook the onesthat were soaked. If you do that nothing is going to fall apart. Plus – I used an old-fashioned meat grinderas suggested and they came out delicious. Thank you for the recipe:)

73. Wayne on August 1st, 2012 1:45 pm

This recipe was a disaster! Way insufficient directions, and I cook a lot. These came out like greasymushballs AND tasted terrible to boot. My son actually spit his out! Nobody finished, and I felt like afailure.

I’m with Julia above. This recipe sucks. Don’t waste your time.

74. Lou on August 26th, 2012 5:50 pm

With so many people having trouble with the falafel balls falling apart, it would be super helpful toinclude the type of oil used for frying in the recipe above.

Also those with success stories could share what type of oil they use! Thanks

75. shooky on August 27th, 2012 7:12 pm

Lou – I’m not sure this counts as “so many people” because many thousands have tried the recipe, andmost people think it’s Great.

Also, I do NOT believe it has anything to do with the oil. This kind of problem might have something todo with the specific chickpea you’re using, and there’s numerous kinds. Basically, anyone who ever madea burger of any kind, should know the feel of a stable ball of falafel that can go into the hot oil.

Note that some people complain about the balls disintegrating and others say they kind of “melts”. Theseare two different conditions, one in which the mixture is too dry and the other that it’s too wet.

76. shooky on August 27th, 2012 7:32 pm

7/31/2015 Best Falafel Recipe EVER | THE HUMMUS BLOG

http://humus101.com/EN/2007/03/13/an-easy-falafel-recipe/ 13/16

Wayne – Most people who tried this recipe liked it and thought it was easy enough to follow. And we’retalking about a HUGH amount of people who did. I’m Sorry you didn’t like it, though.

77. Pam Groth on October 4th, 2012 4:21 pm

I made this recipe and all the the balls or patties fell apart in the oil and I did not have any falafel by thetime it was done. I was not happy person twice in the same week. I followed your recipe to the T, andused two different kinds of oils the same week, corn oil and a canola oil I also used different pansthinking it was me NOPE the same thing came out to nothing, all the balls or patties dissolved in the oil.What I was able to save on the next batch was so greasy and mushy I was like really seriously doubtingmyself as a cook – can you post some pictures or a video or what kind of oil to use – I used chickpea andfava flour so maybe that’s why? Was disappointed big time!

78. Kim Delyse on October 16th, 2012 5:45 pm

This is brilliant, so many falafel recipes include egg so I’m really glad to have found this recipe whichholds together and is tasty and vegan! As it should be! I’m surprised people have been unpleasant; therecipe seems very clear to me and you have been kind enough to share it with us.

Thank you Friend!

79. Kristen on October 29th, 2012 11:03 pm

Tried falafel for the first time while visiting Israel with my brother and grandmother, and it just hasn’tbeen the same here in Indiana! Definitely excited to try this recipe. Thanks for sharing!

80. shooky on December 4th, 2012 3:16 am

Kim – falafel with eggs is like fruit salad with anchovy. Horrible idea.

81. Noah Weiss on January 25th, 2013 6:29 am

I tried the recipe today, and it worked very well! However, it turned out a little bland–may have been meskimping on the spices a bit.

82. Jay on July 23rd, 2013 3:55 am

Haven’t made them yet, but bread crumbs with herbs are a faster alternative. I make veggie burgers all thetime. I only fry in olive oil, and mine never smokes. If its a loose mixture try letting it rest for a bit, as thebread would draw out the moisture. Make them in the afternoon and let them sit for a while. I’d be glad tohop back on and share my success. Zucchini cakes are harder to make than this (my recipe anyway). Asfor this try an i e cream scoop to give you the size and wax paper to mold them to the perfect shape.Slightly freeze, or refrigerate the separated patties prior to frying, or add more bread crumbs to tighten upthe mixture. You have too much moisture in the patties, thats why they fall apart.

83. Cuzz on August 1st, 2013 6:27 pm

Delicious recipe!I mixed everything except the baking powder and ran it through the meat grinder. Let it rest for an hourand added the baking powder.A few fell apart before I realised that the first ones I put in the oil had cooled down the temperature of theoil. So make you sure you have enough heat to start with!Turned out deep brown and crusty with a perfect texture inside.

84. Lyn on September 6th, 2013 11:33 am

I found that the balls hold together if baking powder is used, rather than baking soda. I used cannedchickpeas, also. nice seasonings.

85. san on October 7th, 2013 12:45 am

7/31/2015 Best Falafel Recipe EVER | THE HUMMUS BLOG

http://humus101.com/EN/2007/03/13/an-easy-falafel-recipe/ 14/16

do I toast the bread or just crumble it

86. Two Pan-Fried Falafel Recipes | Breaking Food Consumption Patterns on October 27th, 2013 8:37 pm

[…] second falafel that I tried just today would be an Arabic falafel. While the texture is still somewhatsimilar to the first recipe I tried, I ate this one up a lot […]

87. Homemade Felafel That Doesn't Fall Apart :) | Economies of Kale on December 17th, 2013 10:07 am

[…] the other day I was looking online for a humus recipe, and found a website that advertised the BestFelafel Recipe EVER. With that kind of endorsement I had to have a closer look. The first thing I noticedabout the […]

88. Sarah on March 4th, 2014 11:21 pm

Hi,

Thanks a lot for this recipe. Would you know if frying in a pan without deep frying would work as well? Ido not have a deep frying pan. Maybe it would make more the shape of a burger rather than a falafel, but Iwould not mind.

89. ace on May 29th, 2014 9:52 pm

Good, this is very similar to my favorite recipe that I make all the time. However, for those of you whohad your falafels fall apart: you may not be soaking them long enough. If the dried chickpeas are old (andit’s hard to know how old they are) 12 hours is not long enough to soak them in my opinion. I soak minefor a full 24 hours, sometimes even longer, being careful to change the water at least once. If it’s a reallyhot day you should soak them in the fridge so they don’t ferment (which ruins their natural sweetness).Then, make sure you COMPLETELY drain the chickpeas and make sure they’re dry before grindingthem. You may also want to replace some of the fresh parsley with dried parsley to absorb some of themoisture from the onions. And heres the MOST important part: the oil has to be really hot BEFORE youput the falafels in it. It has to cook and seal the outer crust of the falafel very quickly so they stay intact. Ifyou put the balls in cool oil they will dissolve.

90. Karen on May 30th, 2014 1:42 pm

@ace It occurs to me that this is a good place to throw in a plug for rice bran oil if you can find it.Because of its high smoke point, it can be heated to a higher temperature than virtually any othervegetable oil and hence won’t cool off as much when food is added to it. No dissolving falafel andnegligible oil absorption. I buy mine in Chinatown but Trader Joe’s recently started carrying it.

91. mark on August 9th, 2014 3:19 am

i have tried and tried to make homemade falafel with dried chickpeas and several dozen recipes. i don’thave issues with the balls falling apart but being to dense. I have come to understand this is because Iover process them. But my real issue is trying to mimic Mamouns falafel. It is the best I have ever tastedand I can’t come close to their flavor. There has to be a secret middle eastern ingredient. Some kind ofspice that is not common or sold in the states. Does anyone have any ideas? If anyone has ever gone tomamouns they will know what i am talking about. Thank you for any help.

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