Cooking for Beginners recipes, structured

Falafel

Soaked raw chickpeas, never cooked ones, ground with herbs and fried hard. The starch sets in the oil and holds the whole thing together.

Prep
25m
Cook
20m
Waiting
12h 30m
Total
13h 15m
Serves
4
Effort
Involved
Scale
4
Units

Method

Tap a step number to mark it done. Tap an ingredient once for got it, twice for need it.

250 g Soak in cold water for at least 12 hours 12h They should triple in size and split cleanly when bitten. Do not cook them. Pulse to a coarse, damp crumb that clumps when squeezed 8m Stop while it still looks grainy. Blitzed to a smooth paste it fries dense and heavy. Chill the mixture 30 minutes, then shape into walnut-sized balls 35m Cold mixture holds its shape. Warm mixture spreads in the oil. Fry in batches at 175°C / 350°F until deep brown, about 4 minutes 20m Crowding drops the oil temperature and the falafel drink it. Six at a time, no more.
to cover by 5 cm
1
4 cloves
40 g
30 g
2 tsp
1 tsp
1 1/2 tsp
1/4 tsp
1/2 tsp
1 tbsp
1 litre
Read left to right: ingredients merge into steps, and the rightmost cell is the last thing you do. Steps account for 13h 3m of hands-on and cooking time.

  1. Soak in cold water for at least 12 hours

    12h
    • dried chickpeas 250 g
    • cold water to cover by 5 cm

    They should triple in size and split cleanly when bitten. Do not cook them.

  2. Pulse to a coarse, damp crumb that clumps when squeezed

    8m
    • from 1 Soak in cold water for at least 12 hours
    • onion 1
    • garlic 4 cloves
    • flat-leaf parsley 40 g
    • coriander 30 g
    • ground cumin 2 tsp
    • ground coriander 1 tsp
    • fine salt 1 1/2 tsp
    • cayenne 1/4 tsp

    Stop while it still looks grainy. Blitzed to a smooth paste it fries dense and heavy.

  3. Chill the mixture 30 minutes, then shape into walnut-sized balls

    35m
    • from 2 Pulse to a coarse, damp crumb that clumps when squeezed
    • bicarbonate of soda 1/2 tsp
    • sesame seeds (optional) 1 tbsp

    Cold mixture holds its shape. Warm mixture spreads in the oil.

  4. Fry in batches at 175°C / 350°F until deep brown, about 4 minutes

    20m
    • from 3 Chill the mixture 30 minutes, then shape into walnut-sized balls
    • neutral oil 1 litre

    Crowding drops the oil temperature and the falafel drink it. Six at a time, no more.

Raw chickpeas or nothing

Tinned chickpeas make a batter that disintegrates. Their starch has already gelatinised and their cell walls have collapsed, so there is nothing left to set. A soaked raw chickpea is still a hard seed full of intact starch granules held in a rough crumb; that crumb traps air, and the granules gelatinise in the first seconds of frying, welding the ball from the outside in.

That is also why 175°C is the number. Cooler and the outside sets too slowly and the ball falls apart; hotter and the crust darkens before the middle has steamed through.

Notes

  • Test one first. If it breaks up, pulse the mix another few seconds.
  • The bicarbonate goes in last — it starts reacting with the acid in the herbs straight away.
  • Eaten within ten minutes of leaving the oil. They soften fast.

Try butter, 30 minutes, braise, or an ingredient you need to use up.