89 replies to this topic

[FoodMan]

URGENT HELP NEEDED!

I have a going-away party for friends tonight, falafel is highly sought after so it looks like we're going ahead with it.

I'd like to use the RecipeGullet recipe but I don't have time to soak the dried beans. So can they be par boiled? Or am I better off using canned favas and canned chickpeas? Will either work provided the beans are quite dry?

Don't shoot me, I see that soaking dried beans is the thing but I'd like to have a go at this in the next best (i.e. from scratch) format even if it means changing this crucial dimension.

Disclaimer: I've never tried this but if you must...

Parboil the two beans seperatly until they are soft enough to eat but still pretty crunchy, almost like the crunch of a carrot and certainly not as soft as a boiled potato. Proceed with the recipe as directed and good luck. Let us know how it turns out.

[CharityCase]

URGENT HELP NEEDED!

I have a going-away party for friends tonight, falafel is highly sought after so it looks like we're going ahead with it.

I'd like to use the RecipeGullet recipe but I don't have time to soak the dried beans. So can they be par boiled? Or am I better off using canned favas and canned chickpeas? Will either work provided the beans are quite dry?

Don't shoot me, I see that soaking dried beans is the thing but I'd like to have a go at this in the next best (i.e. from scratch) format even if it means changing this crucial dimension.

Disclaimer: I've never tried this but if you must...

Parboil the two beans seperatly until they are soft enough to eat but still pretty crunchy, almost like the crunch of a carrot and certainly not as soft as a boiled potato. Proceed with the recipe as directed and good luck. Let us know how it turns out.

That's exactly what I did except I wasn't able to find dried favas.

So following this recipe (which is different from the simplified epicurious one but the exact same as that which Mizducky posted upthread) I boiled dried chickpeas for about 20 minutes until they were a bit soft on the outside but still crunchy on the inside. I rinsed and rubbed them to dislodge some of the skins, then dried them with a clean dishtowel. I was working with a fair amount of them so, in stages, I food processed them until they were a rough crumble then proceeded with the rest of the recipe.

This technique, born out of desperation, actually worked just fine except the mix was somewhat inconsistent in grain size...some big crunchy chunks..but they were rendered soft by the hot oil.

My only change to the recipe above would be to add more spice based on your preferences. Otherwise they turned out really well and though somewhat time consuming I have a batch of the mix in the freezer that I can make again sometime.

[agalarneau]

I triangulated between FoodMan and ChefCrash to come up with these beauties:



Here's the whole story of how I got here.

Four teaspoons of baking powder left the falafel tasting of it, in my opinion. FoodMan used one, and the falafel puffed a little. Perhaps next time I'll add a half tsp of baking soda as well.

I brought these to work, and served them with Frank's Hot Sauce (the classic cayenne sauce for Buffalo style chicken wings) tarator, chopped dill pickles and sprigs of cilantro. People went nuts.

[FoodMan]

Charitycase- glad it worked out for you.

Agalarneau- These look perfect, both color and texture. I wish I could only taste them.

[scubadoo97]

I've been using a lot of chick peas lately and picked up a couple of bags of dried beans that I hadn't gotten around to cooking. That and a bag of dried favas from the Asian market that had been in the cabinet for a couple of months set the stage for making falafel after reading this thread. I elaborated on FoodMans recipe and added some cilantro. I ended up with 5 cups of chick peas and 4 cups of favas with peel. My Italian parsley was the darkest green color I had ever seen and coupled with the cilantro my falafel were decked out for St. Patrick's' day.

after the grind


frying them up


beats green beer


I got a great crunchy exterior and a soft warm center that had wonderful flavor. I had tried to make falafel years ago with canned beans and gave up. The hardest part was peeling the favas. Even after a long soak I had to pinch the beans from the shell which took a while to complete. The rest was a breeze.

[Swisskaese]

Oh blessed falafel. This subject is near and dear to me.

ChefCrash's posted pic is a good point at which to discuss another difference between the lebanese and israeli styles of falafel sandwiches - the pita. I see the dinner plate pita you were eating is much larger than the "sandwich pocket' sizes I have seen in israel. I think the pickled turnip is also a lebanese addition whereas israelis add the tomato and cucumber mix, hummus and tahini as primary ingredients.

In unrelated news, you can have an excellent falafel in Paris at L'as du Fallafel (VirtualTourist)

Actually, you can have felafel on lafa bread in Israel, if the stand offers pita and lafa as an option, you just have to ask. Pickled turnips are not just a Lebanese addition. Iraqis also make pickled turnips and you find them at most felafel/shwarma stands here in Israel. Depending on where your family originates is what you are most likely to put on your felafel. However, since we are such a mix here, most of us like to mix it up.

Israel has citizens from most countries in the Middle East, even Jews that originated in Kuwait. And we have restaurants that cover most of those countries. Okay, we don't have any Gulfi restaurants yet .

Edited by Swisskaese, 18 March 2007 - 03:32 PM.

[little ms foodie]

I used FoodMan's recipe to make my first ever falafel today and served it to Dayne's dad and uncle. I've actually only even had it twice before. This was very good and everyone loved it!

after the grind



I made quenelles using 2 spoons



served them warm with warm pita, israeli salad and tahini sauce



I assume serving them warm is the way to go but do people eat them room temp also??

thanks for coming up with such a good cook off! this is a keeper for sure!!

[Abra]

Since the question has come up about how to tell peeled from unpeeled favas, and since I didn't even know what I myself had in my cupboard, here's a look.


This is after 20 hours of soaking. The white beans are after I peeled them, all the others are the unpeeled version. It's not a big deal to peel them, maybe a 15 minute effort, but if I can find them peeled I'll do that next time.

I made FoodMan's recipes, including his pita and taratour sauce recipes. I did the pitas on a hot stone and they puffed into perfect balloons - the first time I've gotten pitas to make pockets reliably. However, the picture I took of them in the oven mostly shows how dirty the glass is, so I'll spare you that. Here's the finished felafel.


I was a bit short on parsley, so mine aren't as green as other people's. The texture was fine and light, and they held together perfectly without the addition of any water. The added flavor from the favas is very interesting, sort of grassy, a bit reminiscent of cantaloupe. I really liked it a lot. I added quite a bit of Aleppo pepper to the sauce, which is why it's pinkish. Thanks for the lovely recipes, Elie!

[FoodMan]

Very nice stuff Abra. Glad you enjoyed it and that the recipes worked. I admire your patience with using the unpeeled fava and peeling it yourself. It's not difficult, but a bit tedious. I always have the peeled ones on hand.

[Coriander8]

In unrelated news, you can have an excellent falafel in Paris at L'as du Fallafel (VirtualTourist)

Thank you so much for that! I had the best falafel of my life at that place and thought that I would never be able to find it again since I didn't remember the name or exactly where it was. Here I was thinking that maybe it tasted so good just because I was in Paris but Lenny Kravitz agrees with me!

[Catherine Iino]

So I came across this thread this morning, and I sez to myself, I have fava beans, I have chickpeas, I have a lot of parsley and scallions I should use up, I have some homemade chubz (pita) in the freezer, I'll make falafel tonight! Obviously, I didn't have 14 hours to soak the beans; I boiled the beans (separately) for one minute and then left them to soak for the rest of the afternoon. I used foodman's recipe in recipe gullet. Absolutely delicious! Best ever! Thank you all.

What I didn't have in the house was lettuce or tahini. Inspired by Chefcrash's pickles, I made a much quicker wilted slaw out of salted-and-squeezed red cabbage, dressed with olive oil and lemon juice. And I made a sauce with just drained yogurt, garlic, and salt. We ate the falafel in the chubz with these two accompaniments, and it was excellent. I think I liked the combination as well as the lettuce and tahini sauce I usually use.

My favas were the big, brown-skinned ones they sell at my Italian grocery store. Popping them out of the skins was kind of amusing, but I will definitely look for skinless, split ones for the future.

[Chris Amirault]

For those trying to find the right fava, I found these Goya peeled fava beans at my local (Portuguese) carnicaria and I'm soaking them as I type. Two bucks at my shop, btw.

[Chris Amirault]

Made Elie's recipe, more or less, above, and it turned out great. I left the dough out on the counter after grinding it up to allow it to dry out a bit, and that seemed a good idea. I also cooked the felafel too much and they were a bit too crisp (though, certainly, done -- my concern abated at the cost of tenderness).

Picked up some of those turnip pickles (at Sonia's on Park Ave in Cranston for the locals), and, boy, they were a great addition.

[6ppc]

I made some last night using a modified version of the recipe in recipe gullet (added 1 t coriander, used 50/50 cilantro/parsley instead of parsley alone and 2 C chickpeas instad of a fava/chickpea mix.

They turned out extremely well and will be added to the regular rotation.

[luvfood]

Hi,i am new to this forum, and am really into midddle eastern dishes.
I really want to try Felafel,
Can i use the combination of canned chickpeas/garbanzo beans and (dry)soaked Fava beans, will it affect the texture?
Would appreciate any inputs
Thanks!

[Kerry Beal]

Hi,i am new to this forum, and am really into midddle eastern dishes.
I really want to try Felafel,
Can i use the combination of canned chickpeas/garbanzo beans and (dry)soaked Fava beans, will it affect the texture?
Would appreciate any inputs
Thanks!

Welcome to eG luvfood.

I think you'll find the texture will be negatively affected by canned garbanzos, which are cooked. You just soak the dried garbanzos and favas. They don't cook until they are fried.

If you look through this topic from the beginning you'll find this has been raised before.

Is it a problem of not being able to find the dried version?

[luvfood]

Welcome to eG luvfood. 

I think you'll find the texture will be negatively affected by canned garbanzos, which are cooked.  You just soak the dried garbanzos and favas.  They don't cook until they are fried. 

If you look through this topic from the beginning you'll find this has been raised before. 

Is it a problem of not being able to find the dried version?

Hi, thanks for your reply,
i just had the two and thought i would try it this way,
yes, finding dry garbanzo beans is'nt, but i will just look for them harder.
Thanks, i 'll try this and post how it came out.

[scubadoo97]

Dried chickpeas are in just about every major grocery store. Dried favas are harder to find. I find the dried chickpeas are usually next to the other dried beans or in the ethnic section with the Latin food products. Usually in both sections with the brand like Goya in the Latin section and the store brands in the bean section.

[madbuy]

ok guys I really need to get some facts clear here.
I am an Israeli and nobody in the whole world knows how to make better Falafel except for some friends of ours in New York *Falafel King :)

1: DO NOT COOK THE CHICKPEAS!!!
2: who is in a hurry can use canned beans but that is just baaaHH: !
3: it is ok to mix Fava Beans if u really can get the REAL HUGE so called FOOL instead of those little reddish beans I have seen on some people using--only the real fool can give the Falafel balls an extra BITE but I personally like pure chickpea Falafel because I like rather the taste of the whole Pita sandwich, salads pickles and Tahini mixed as 1 taste instead of having a strong Falafel herby taste--for those using any supermarket fava beans could might as well use yellow split peas, lentils or any similar Beans as cheap Volume. The first one who ever did it was just saving money but the Idea sounded interesting because Fava Beans are anyway famous in our Kitchen for the Hummus similar Paste called just like the bean=fool (with loads of Cumin)

ORIGINAL LEBANESE FALAFEL IS MADE LIKE THIS:
and don't copy Israeli Falafelias because most of them are cheaters and to save money and time, many of the little ones use only Chicken stock instead of all the other Herbs and spices. Chicken Stock also has a bit green parsley in it--perfecto for the pocket-thats a Falafel that looks yellow inside instead of shiny glowing green!

You need 1 KG dried Chickpeas
small hand full fresh coriander *about 5-6 stems depending on u
HUGE AMOUNT OF PARSLEY (ABOUT 3 LARGE BUNCHES)
4 LARGE ONIONS
SALT, CUMIN, NUTMEG
OPTIONAL: GARLIC
cornflour

1. You soak chickpeas with a tiny little bicarb (soda) powder for 2- max 5 hours in a cool shady place--AND DO NOT USE HOT WATER--ONLY COLD

2. drain the chickpeas and (hand) Grind them TOGETHER WITH THE Onions AND FRESH HERBS--That colors the chickpeas really greeeen!!

This is the most important step--the mixed grinding of chickpeas parsley and coriander make the mix very green! please leave it chunky and DO NOT MAKE A FINE PUREE

3. You add on every KG Chickpeas 2-3 Cups of Cornflour *Gluten free

4. spices and then you mix it all together.

5. you heat up the oil to 160-170 Degrees *not max!! use 1 level before the max on your stove or hot plate or deep fryer.

6. Get yourself a REAL FALAFEL SCOOP on my website Madbuy

7. have a cup of water on the side to always wash out the scoop every 5-10th time to let next balls slip off better in the hot oil--but be careful with water close to the oil :O

8. well.... i guess thats where i need to show you how to bake a Pita and prepare fresh Tahini so get in touch :)

Regards,
Ron

Edited by madbuy, 12 December 2007 - 12:50 PM.

[Jenni]

I'm amazed that some people would consider using cooked chickpeas! To me, that is insane!

Also, for me, broad bean falafals and chickpea falafals are two separate things, and I have never made a combination falafal. It sure sounds good though, I may have to try it!

[doctortim]

I used agalarneau's recipe, and it worked perfectly. At least I think it did. I've only ever had falafel made by others from those dried mixes you can buy, and needless to say these far exceeded that. I forgot to take a picture until they were almost all gone. This photo shows the great colour and crust they got, but since it had been sitting, broken in half on the plate for a while it doesn't capture how perfectly moist they were in side. Great recipe, agalarneau!

[Chufi]

I made falafel from dried broad beans a couple of weeks ago. I used the recipe from Claudia Roden's Book of Jewish Food. The flavor was absolutely fantastic, but I was disappointed with the texture. The exterior was a lot smoother than most pics I've seen on this thread, and it wasn't very crunchy, it was a bit hard and chewy.

Any idea what could have caused that? maybe I processed the paste for too long? or overhandled it when making the patties?

Edited by Chufi, 26 February 2009 - 06:07 AM.

[ChefCrash]

I made falafel from dried broad beans a couple of weeks ago. I used the recipe from Claudia Roden's Book of Jewish Food. The flavor was absolutely fantastic, but I was disappointed with the texture. The exterior was a lot smoother than most pics I've seen on this thread, and it wasn't very crunchy, it was a bit hard and chewy.

Any idea what could have caused that? maybe I processed the paste for too long? or overhandled it when making the patties?

Your mix appears to have the right texture. Did you perhaps boil the beans? They should only soak overnight.

I'm surprised a Jewish food cookbook would have an all Fava bean recipe.

[Chris Amirault]

It sounds like the outer crust was too moist. Did you let the exterior dry before frying?

[melamed]

Someone asked above about why there are variations in falafel recipes, those made with broadbeans (fool) and/or chickpeas/garbanzo (humus). For one, chickpeas come from south east turkey/syria and broadbeans are more mediterranean, associated mostly with Egypt. Perhaps that has something to do with it. Second, which was mentioned above, many Jews have favism (G6PD), a condition where eating broadbeans can lead to serious anemia. Indeed most falafel stands in Israel use only chickpeas. The egyptian falafel (taamiya) recipe that I have uses only broadbeans. ...and there is everything in between.

chuff, I am not sure why it came out hard on the outside, perhaps that has to do with oil temp?

[lesterj2]

I love the Joan Nathan version. Had it last night with homemade pitas (thanks to Artisan Bread in Five Minutes - my new obsession) and again for breakfast today! I've only had restaurant felafel once, as L'As du Felafel in Paris, but it seems to me these compare pretty favorably.

I've seen a couple of references to freezing uncooked felafel. Can anyone tell me how the quality is after, say, a month of freezing? And do you form the balls/patties first or just freeze a batch of the mix, then form them after defrosting?

[melamed]

I love the Joan Nathan version.  Had it last night with  homemade pitas (thanks to Artisan Bread in Five Minutes - my new obsession) and again for breakfast today!  I've only had restaurant felafel once, as L'As du Felafel in Paris, but it seems to me these compare pretty favorably.

I've seen a couple of references to freezing uncooked felafel.  Can anyone tell me how the quality is after, say, a month of freezing?  And do you form the balls/patties first or just freeze a batch of the mix, then form them after defrosting?

Usually when I make falafel I make a large batch and store the unused portion in an airtight box in the freezer. I don't store them as falafel balls but this may be a good idea if you have room in your freezer. I usually finish the frozen mixture within 1 or 2 months and have not noticed any big difference in texture. Of course, if I were to taste a fresh batch and one which was defrosted I might notice a difference. In some falafel chains in Israel that's the way they do it.

[Chris Amirault]

Do they leach moisture when you defrost them?

[melamed]

Do they leach moisture when you defrost them?

Good question, if I recall correctly there is some excess moisture but not enough
to be a problem, Next time I defrost uncooked falafel I will take a note of it.

[Pam R]

Today seems like a good day for falafel. But I didn't plan ahead, and didn't soak any beans so they won't be from scratch tonight. But, I would like to take another stab at making them from scratch again soon.

Anybody make any lately? And tricks to pass on? Going traditional or trying anything new?