I’ve been making my own baked falafels for a few years. About a year ago I tried one of those dried falafel mix boxes, where you just add water and an egg or something. Disgusting! Then a couple of months ago I saw some nice looking ready-made ones in a vacuum-sealed packet, in the supermarket. They came in different flavours and were on special so I thought I’d try them, as we were going away on the boat that weekend and wanted easy nibbles to take with us. Also disgusting! SO dry and tasteless.
I think I’ll just stick to my tried and true homemade ones. I bake them rather than fry, as I do not like food where all you can taste is oil. These are easy and delicious, and if you don’t like the yoghurt dipping sauce, sweet chilli is just as good.
Falafels
425 gm can chickpeas, drained
3 tbsp fresh mint, finely chopped
2 tbsp fresh coriander, finely chopped
1 medium carrot, peeled & grated
1/3 cup breadcrumbs
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 egg
1 tsp cumin seeds, ground
Sauce for Serving:
1 cup low-fat Greek yoghurt
1 tbsp fresh mint, finely chopped
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp lemon zest
1/2 tsp chilli paste (optional)
Mash the chickpeas in a food processor until smooth. Place in a bowl and mix with all other ingredients.
With clean hands, form into smooth oval shapes of about 1 tbsp of mixture each. Refrigerate for an hour, then bake on a greased oven tray at 200C for 20 minutes (turning over after 10 minutes).
Serve with dipping sauce – mix all sauce ingredients together and refrigerate until needed.
Makes 16.
Happy Fooding!
