How many of you love Chickpea Falafel? And how many of you know that Chickpea Falafel in a pan is delicious? Tired of frying and smelling it for days in the house and kitchen, I decided to try this recipe by changing the cooking method.
Here I am today to present the Recipe for Chickpea Falafel in the pan or oven, yes because I tried both cooking methods and they are always nice and crispy outside, soft inside, and really good just like freshly fried!
MAIN CAUTION: You need to be careful to turn them often, they shouldn’t become dark on one side only, Chickpea Falafel should be nicely golden all over their spherical surface.
Second variant made to the recipe: do you really want to soak chickpeas for 10 or 12 hours? What courage and perseverance, you have all my respect! For those who are lazy like me, you can just open a nice jar, drain the chickpeas, and proceed with the preparation of Jar Chickpea Falafel! Convenient, right?!?
Post-main caution: consider the two hours of resting the dough in the refrigerator, don’t come to me later saying: “the dough wasn’t right and the falafel didn’t turn out!” Plus, consider at least 30 minutes of rest for the chickpeas after draining them from the brine, whether they are from a jar or a can. I’ve warned you, resting times, temperatures, and cooking times must always be respected in the kitchen. Are they mathematical formulas?
Let’s move on to some notes regarding this delicious recipe. Chickpea Falafel is a typical dish of Middle Eastern cuisine, between Palestinian and Egyptian cuisine there are countless variations. Some add baking powder to give more softness to the heart of the falafel. More or less garlic in the mixture, then coriander, cumin, and cardamom are indispensable. In short, feel free to try as many Chickpea Falafel recipes as possible. They are a perfect appetizer to serve with tzatziki sauce or hummus. I find Falafel ideal to serve as a main course in addition to other typical Levantine recipes, maybe with some grilled eggplants with Greek sauce or paired with a Burek with spinach and feta. I almost forgot, a nice plate of Curry Chicken and about twenty chickpea falafel, mmm I’m already hungry! Let’s not forget home Street Food dinners, the veggie burgers and chickpea falafel I made during the two lockdowns. Another idea to serve to complete this oriental-flavored dinner are Sweet and Sour Baked Fennel, crispy and delicious.
They will remind you of the post-club nights with friends, when everyone ordered kebab but you didn’t like it (like in my case) and you enjoyed a nice pita with chickpea falafel, salad, fries, and Greek yogurt sauce. Oh my, did I unlock a memory? Or perhaps that trip to Egypt with my mother when we ate more than 30 between us and the lady at the stall in the market looked at us in surprise while laughing heartily “big-eating Italians.” Or that time in Kenya where they added too much garlic but to honor the hostess we finished them all anyway!
Before moving on to the chickpea falafel recipe following my variations, I want to remind you that you can follow the cooking blog of Le Ricette di Bea and not miss any recipe by choosing among the various social channels. You can choose the Facebook fan page by clicking here, the Instagram profile by clicking here, the Pinterest board by clicking here. The YouTube channel, by clicking here, where you will find many video recipes to cook together the dishes I propose. Finished? Oh, come on, there’s the Telegram channel, by clicking here, where you can find the Recipe of the Day and the Twitter profile by clicking here. Could I miss Tik Tok? I would say no, so you can also find the profile of Le Ricette di Bea by clicking here.
Below I leave you the related recipes to this one that you can serve to set up a rich buffet or serve a typical Middle Eastern dinner to your family or friends!
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very cheap
- Rest time: 2 Hours 30 Minutes
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 2 people
- Cooking methods: Stovetop, Oven
- Cuisine: Middle Eastern
- Seasonality: All seasons
- Energy 724.24 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 128.86 (g) of which sugars 18.68 (g)
- Proteins 35.92 (g)
- Fat 10.43 (g) of which saturated 1.15 (g)of which unsaturated 7.06 (g)
- Fibers 24.04 (g)
- Sodium 282.05 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 250 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
- 8.8 oz chickpeas (canned or jarred)
- 2.8 oz onion (preferably white and finely chopped)
- Half garlic (half clove if you don't love it like me, otherwise a whole clove)
- 1 tbsp chopped parsley (fresh or dried finely chopped)
- 2 tbsps ground coriander
- 1 pinch pepper
- Half tsp ground cumin
- Half tsp cardamom (ground, honestly I didn't add it because I wouldn't know how to use it afterward)
- Half tsp baking powder (for savory pies or food-grade bicarbonate)
- 1 tbsp flour (one and a half tablespoons of flour)
- 1 pinch salt
- to taste bread crumbs
Tools
- 1 Chopper
- 1 Spoon
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Oven
- 1 Pan
- 1 Stovetop
- 1 Parchment Paper
- 1 Refrigerator
- Paper towel
- 1 Knife
- 1 Cutting board
In the list of necessary tools to prepare Chickpea Falafel in the pan, both the oven with a baking sheet and parchment paper are indicated because this recipe is very versatile regarding the cooking method. You can decide to cook in a pan as I did or opt for the oven; no one forbids you from executing the classic cooking of falafel by frying them in abundant seed oil.
You can then use the blender, which I did not mention, but I cannot guarantee the same result; you need to be very careful not to make the mixture too soft and liquid; otherwise, you will no longer be able to form the balls and will have to add too much flour.
Steps for Chickpea Falafel Recipe:
Let’s start preparing the Chickpea Falafel by draining the chickpeas from the brine of the jar or glass jar. Let them drain for at least 30 minutes with a colander or food mill. After this time, lay some kitchen paper towels on a work surface or a wooden cutting board and place the chickpeas on top. Pat them until they are well dried, trying not to break them. Gentle! Now that they are dry, we can put them in the chopper; I love my Choppy! If you want one too, buy it by clicking here. Add the finely chopped white onion using a knife on a wooden cutting board. The garlic you have chopped into pieces, the doses of parsley and coriander. Once the mixture is grainy and sticky, add the other spices, the salt, the dose of savory pie baking powder, and the flour.
Only if necessary, add two or three tablespoons of water. This will only serve to dilute the mixture; keep in mind that we need to obtain patties, not hummus, so the consistency must be malleable and especially dense; otherwise, we won’t be able to make the chickpea patties! Now that all the ingredients are well mixed, cover the bowl and place it in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours and 30 minutes; if you have more time available, even better, as it will only improve the final result.
Now the most fun part of this recipe, let’s prepare the chickpea patties! Let’s start by forming the small chickpea patties, roll them in bread crumbs, and place them on a plate. Once the mixture is finished, we are ready to start cooking. As previously mentioned, we can choose to cook the Chickpea Falafel using two methods. The simplest is in the oven, preheat it to 350°F and cover a baking sheet with parchment paper, place the chickpea balls inside and let them cook for 20 minutes, turning them every 5 minutes to brown all sides.
Or choose the pan, as I did. Then pour a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil into a non-stick pan and keep the flame at the minimum. Place the chickpea balls in the pan and cook for about 20 minutes, turning them very often; they should not become overcooked on one side only. Cooking must be uniform, and you can achieve this only by being careful. If you don’t want this hassle, fry the Chickpea Falafel in seed oil.
Serve the chickpea balls hot, accompanied by the side dish of your choice; I just have to remind you that I await you on the blog with many other easy, cheap, and delicious recipes! I wish you Bon Appétit!
Variations of Pan-Fried Chickpea Falafel:
So the first important variation is cooking, as stated above, you can choose between: oven, pan, or fryer. If you have an air fryer, that works just fine too. If you choose to fry, remember to pat dry the Chickpea Falafel well before serving them to your guests or family; otherwise, they will be too soaked in frying oil.
Then another variation is the amount of garlic, depending on your taste, we like it little, very little in fact.
Second variation, cardamom, I didn’t add it; if you have it, nothing prevents you from adding it, I didn’t buy it because I didn’t know how to use it in other recipes.
Third variation, baking powder for savory pies. You can add it if you want soft chickpea patties inside; the baking powder gives the right consistency to the dough. Otherwise, do without if it remains open for days and loses its main properties.
FAQs
Do you have other questions? Don’t understand a step?
Write to me in the comments or live chat on the various social channels I have! I’m waiting for your questions and photos of the recipe remade by you!
