Easy Vegan Falafel Recipe

21st January 2020

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Easy Vegan Falafel recipe made with a handful of ingredients!
Serve in your salad bowl or stuff in your pita bread – either-ways they are so delicious. Instructions included for Deep Fry & Air fry options.

We are huge fans of Falafel Balls at home and they are regular feature on our dinner menu. I love to serve falafels in my wraps, loaded with salad, hummus and sometimes boom boom sauce.

We also love falafel in our Salad bowls too!!

My son hates hummus, so he usually loves a drizzle of tomato ketchup in his wraps.

Even if I can’t make it, my family makes sure to add store-bought classic falafels to the weekly menu shopping. But let me tell you – nothing can be as delicious as homemade falafels, isn’t it!

I learned to make this vegan Falafels recipe from my Sudanese friend who makes the best falafel ever. She got me a box of falafels ( also known as Tamiya in Sudan ) one day after the school run and they were simply melting. Crispy on the outside, soft, and melting on the inside. Since then, I have been asking her for this recipe!

Soon, I will be working on Step by Step method of imagery to justify these irresistible middle eastern balls.

So here’s the update – I sent these pictures to my FALAFEL EXPERT friend and she said – these falafels look better than hers !!

I had never tasted a falafel so light, crispy and delicious. She is so particular about her falafel recipe, that she send me notes on do’s and don’ts on how to make it.

THIS EASY FALAFEL RECIPE

isVEGAN / VEGETARIAN
makes a great weeknight dinner
is so quick and easy.
is ready in less than 30 minutes apart from the overnight soaking time!
can be made in Air fryer, Oven Baked and Deep Fried too!

Easy Vegan Falafel Recipe - Sandhya's Kitchen (2)

TIPS TO MAKE DELICIOUS VEGAN FALAFELS

Do not use Canned Chickpeas
Soak Dried Chickpeas for at least 8 hours or overnight.
Process the Chickpeas until smooth and not coarse.
Add Baking Powder just before frying.
Dill Leaves and Parsley add great flavors to our quick & easy falafels. If you don’t have dill leaves, simply leave it out.
Using Cilantro ( Coriander leaves ) is optional in your falafel. I do love it!
I have tried making Falafels with cooked Chickpeas and found them a little soft. But they are surely delicious too! Learn all about cooking your chickpeas in my ultimate guide.

CAN I FREEZE THE FALAFELS?

Once you make a smooth paste out of chickpeas and remaining ingredients, store them in freezer safe bag and freeze it. Thaw them before use and add the baking powder. Shape the balls and Air fry the falafel ball or Deep fry it or oven bake the falafel.

HAVE YOU MADE MY EASY VEGAN FALAFEL RECIPE

Post a photo on myFacebookpage, share it onInstagram, or save it toPinterestwith the tag #sandhyaskitchen. I would love to see your take on this delicious middle eastern appetiser.

BEST FALAFEL EVER RECIPE BELOW

Vegan Falafel Recipe

4.55 from 11 votes

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Ingredients

250 g dried chickpeas
1 medium sized onion
5 garlic clove crushed
1/4 Cup finely chopped flat leaf parsley
1 tbsp finely chopped coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp baking powder
Salt to taste
about 750ml sunflower oil for deep-frying

Instructions

Rinse the chickpeas twice in running water and soak them in nearly twice the amount of water for atleast 8 hours or over night. They would nearly double in size. Drain the water and rinse again.
Add them in batches to a food processor or a grinder jar along with chopped onions, garlic, cumin and coriander powder. Grind them and scrape the sides until you get a smooth paste. Add the chopped parsley and coriander leaves and blend again. Adjust salt as needed.
Once you have achieved the desired texture for the falafel mixture, transfer them to the bowl. Cover with cling film and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Add the baking powder to the falafel mixture and prepare for deep frying.
Deep Frying – Heat Oil in medium heat. While the Oil is getting heated, make small falafel balls and set them side. While frying anything, as a precaution, I would test with one to check if the mixture does not separate out and the oil is well heated. Once this works, I would add 4-5 falafel balls together in the next batch. Fry for approximately 4-5 minutes until golden brown. Drain them onto a kitchen towel.
Air Frying Falafel – Preheat the Airfryer to 180C. Arrange the shaped falafel balls in the airfryer basket and brush them with oil. Air fry for 16- 18 minutes, checking in between until its done.
Repeat the process for the remaining falafel balls.

Notes

Adding flour to the falafel mixture is option. you can add 1 1/2 tsp chickpeas flour or plain flour.

This is an eggless recipe. Some people prefer adding eggs to ensure binding is 100% . I have not tested it, hence cannot guarantee.

If you do not have parsley at hand, you may replace all of them with coriander leaves.

Nutrition

Course: Appetizer, Main Course

Reader Interactions

Comments

Janani Rak says
18th November 2016 at 11:40 pm

Looks soo good sandy! yum! and lovely pics as always!
Reply
- Sandhya Hariharan says
  23rd November 2016 at 7:29 pm
  
  Thanks Janani…
  Reply
Sai priya says
19th November 2016 at 2:39 am

Beautiful photographs. I like them with spicy coriander chutney always. Such a lovely Post
Reply
- Sandhya Hariharan says
  19th November 2016 at 6:52 pm
  
  Thanks so much SaiPriya. Very kind of you..
  Reply
Rafaela says
20th November 2016 at 9:15 am

Hi! could i bake the falafels instead of frying them?
Reply
- Sandhya Hariharan says
  21st November 2016 at 8:06 am
  
  You may try. It should work too.
  Reply
Rasakama says
22nd November 2016 at 7:28 pm

These scrumptious falafels are too gorgeous to look at, to be honest.It is the first time I heard of it and I tried the recipe. It was perfect!
Thanks for the recipe.
Reply
- Sandhya Hariharan says
  23rd November 2016 at 7:28 pm
  
  Thanks so much.. These are delicious.. Do give it a try and let me know on how it turns out.
  Reply
Gayathri says
1st October 2017 at 1:11 pm

Falafal is an all time favourite in my house. The pictures look stunning Sandhya.
Reply

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