Reality's Easy Oven Falafel Balls

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ra_mom

Mon, Jan 04 2010, 9:18 pm

These are really good!

Reality wrote:

Home-made falafel (baked not fried) tastes good & it's a fun healthy meal. I make it once a week & it lasts for 2 meals.

2 cans chickpeas
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 T. lemon juice
1/2 t. turmeric
1/2 t. cumin
1 t. pepper
1 1/2 t. salt (I usually add a little less)
2 eggs
4 T. WW matzah meal (any filler will do this is just what I use. Also if it is sticky I will add more)

Either put chickpeas is food processor or mash by hand. (I started doing it by hand b/c it was easier for me. The beans kind of get stuck in the food processor & don't get grinded so well). Dump in all the other ingredients. Mix well.

Spray a 9 by 13 pan with cooking spray & shape mixture into balls. Put in oven at 400 degrees. Done in about 20 minutes. Depends how well done you like it. They are done when the tops are browned

Because they are baked not fried they have a yellow color & not the typical brown color we are used to but the taste is very authentic.

Tamiri

Thu, Jan 07 2010, 2:04 pm

I made them today and they were not a hit. I think they are okay but my kids are spoiled by Chatuka felafel.

greeneyes

Thu, Jan 07 2010, 4:03 pm

I look forward to trying this. Thanks for posting!

geemum

Mon, Jan 11 2010, 12:42 pm

I'm interested to ty this, but am worried by Tamiri's post. Has anyone else made these with success?

GetReal

Mon, Jan 11 2010, 12:44 pm

I made them and we liked them.

cbmom

Tue, Jan 12 2010, 8:06 am

About how many falafel balls does this make?

ra_mom

Tue, Jan 12 2010, 10:30 am

cbmom wrote:

About how many falafel balls does this make?

I don't remember exactly. I think 18 niced sized falafel balls. Somehow these were more filling than other falafel balls and we didn't need to eat as much.

greeneyes

Tue, Jan 12 2010, 11:00 pm

I made this tonight and my husband & I really enjoyed it. I served them in warmed up whole wheat pitas with techina & salad. Yum! (I tried one plain & wasn't crazy about it, but in the pita with the techina & salad, it was really delicious.)

Thanks again for posting the recipe. Smile

greeneyes

Tue, Jan 12 2010, 11:01 pm

cbmom wrote:

About how many falafel balls does this make?

I did 1/2 the recipe, & it made 15 balls.

Pineapple

Mon, Feb 01 2010, 11:11 am

what spices can I use instead fo the tumeric and cumin? (dh does not like them)

ra_mom

Mon, Feb 01 2010, 11:25 am

Pineapple wrote:

what spices can I use instead fo the tumeric and cumin? (dh does not like them)

All falafel balls have cumin in them Smile

And either turmeric or coriander...
If your dh likes regular falafel balls, then that means that he has been enjoying cumin at least in one form of food. Smile

wereafamily

Tue, Nov 11 2014, 10:54 pm

Finally got to try it, while I love the concept I think it's lacking taste. Any ideas what I can add next time to make it more flavorful?

Notsobusy

Tue, Nov 11 2014, 11:08 pm

I have a different recipe, I can post it if you want. For 2 cans of chickpeas it calls for 8 cloves of garlic, 1 large onion, 2 t salt, 2 t cumin, 2 t coriander, just those additions will give it more of a taste. It also calls for red pepper flakes, I put less than what the recipe calls for because we don't like it that hot.

wereafamily

Wed, Nov 12 2014, 3:17 pm

glutenless wrote:

That sounds better! Can you give me the exact recipe? Or did you cover everything in it.

Notsobusy

Wed, Nov 12 2014, 10:13 pm

I actually got my recipe from Imamother, but I can't figure out how to link to that thread so I have to copy and paste. I only use the canned chickpeas so I don't have to soak overnight. I also leave out the cilantro, add 1 t of coriander and use less dried hot red pepper.

ingredients
1 cup dried chickpeas
1/2 large onion, roughly chopped (about 1 cup)
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon salt
1/2-1 teaspoon dried hot red pepper
4 cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon baking powder
4-6 tablespoons flour
Soybean or vegetable oil for frying

preparation
1. Put the chickpeas in a large bowl and add enough cold water to cover them by at least 2 inches. Let soak overnight, then drain. Or use canned chickpeas, drained.
2. Place the drained, uncooked chickpeas and the onions in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add the parsley, cilantro, salt, hot pepper, garlic, and cumin. Process until blended but not pureed.

3. Sprinkle in the baking powder and 4 tablespoons of the flour, and pulse. You want to add enough bulgur or flour so that the dough forms a small ball and no longer sticks to your hands. Turn into a bowl and refrigerate, covered, for several hours.

4. Form the chickpea mixture into balls about the size of walnuts, or use a falafel scoop, available in Middle-Eastern markets.

5. Heat 3 inches of oil to 375 degrees in a deep pot or wok and fry 1 ball to test. If it falls apart, add a little flour. Then fry about 6 balls at once for a few minutes on each side, or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels

ra_mom

Wed, Nov 12 2014, 10:29 pm

wereafamily wrote:

Finally got to try it, while I love the concept I think it's lacking taste. Any ideas what I can add next time to make it more flavorful?

You might like this recipe better being that you're not serving in a pita which makes a big difference in these oven baked falafel balls Smile

It's the overall sandwich that works with these.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/rec......html

The flavor is more pronounced and falafel balls more crisp. Add an egg and decrease baking time almost by half.

And don't forget to make a really flavorful tehini and a well seasoned Israeli salad with these.

shanie5

Sat, Nov 15 2014, 9:45 pm

My family loves this recipe for falafel. I just found that I had to put the batter in the fridge for a bit before frying. Or shape and fridge, then fry. Otherwise they fell apart. But worth it!!

http://imamother.com/forum/vie.....lafel

penguin

Sat, Nov 15 2014, 11:13 pm

If you spray the tops with Pam or mist with oil they'll come out much crisper even though baked. Also, I make them more like small patties than balls so there's more surface area to get crispy. You can also turn them over half way.

seeker

Sun, Nov 16 2014, 12:21 am

I do as Penguin said, spray the tops and they have more of that crispy fried feeling without being anywhere near as oily as fried. Plus a patty shape which not only gives more surface area but also makes it slide more easily into a pita without the whole thing breaking apart.

So I really liked this recipe but don't get around to making it often. The first time I served it with my kids included they loved it, they called the falafel balls "cookies" (even without making patty shapes they come out flat on bottom from being baked on a pan) and all ate decent portions. The second time I served it with kids they didn't really go for it, one or maybe both tasted it and declined to even finish the first "cookie," and basically all they had for supper that night was pita. Go figure. Now I don't know whether or not to make falafel anymore Sad

wereafamily

Sun, Nov 16 2014, 9:01 pm

glutenless wrote:

Thank you so much for writing this down!! You think it would work without flour?

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