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Does anyone here make their own falafel at home? Is it one of those food items that's just too easy to just pick up and not worth the effort to heat up the oil at home?

I was thinking of trying to make a batch at home that was modified a bit for my kids. Anyone have a good recipe or technique that works for them?

I don't have an exact recipe, but you can bake them in the oven. I live close to quite a few places that sell good inexpensive falafel, so I'll never heat up oil for deep-frying them, but I'll certainly take canned chick peas and form balls or patties and throw them in the oven for a quick dinner.

Drain chickpeas as dry as possible, add to food processor with herbs/spices/aromatics (cumin, fresh parsley, salt, onion, whatever else you like), a little olive oil and a little flour (chickpea flour is nice if you have it). Do not over-blend. Go for coarse/grainy.

Form into balls (or whatever shape you like, just not too thick), brush the outside with a little olive oil and cook in a 400 degree oven for 20-30 minutes, turning halfway through cooking.

Best,
Michael

I have been tempted to try to use a waffle iron -- yes, Falafel Waffles. MrsF threatens to throw me out of the house if I adversely flavor the nonstick iron, though. My gut feeling is that I would need to add more oil to the batter, as waffle batter typically has more fat than correspondingly similar pancake batter.

I can just picture it, though, with a frozen tahina-yoghurt quenelle and a drizzle of pureed harissa.

I believe some of the restaurants such as Pita Inn use at least part fava beans, giving a green color to the patties, more than you'd get with minced parsley. Other spicing you'd probably want to use includes a little cumin and coriander -- oh I see EC said cumin already.

LTH,

Back in the mid-eighties, I worked under an Iraqi-born Israeli named Avner Samuel, who at that time was Executive Chef of the legendary Mansion on Turtle Creek in Dallas. (Dean Fearing was Sam's replacement when Sam moved over to open our sister property across town, Hotel Crescent Court.) Every so often "Sam" would make a batch of these felafel for the guys. Our Egyptian-born room service manager thought they were the best! You'll have to plan ahead since the chick peas must soak for a minimum of 10-12 hours, but the recipe couldn't be easier or more straightforward.

Sam's Felafel:
1 lb. dried garbanzo beans (soak in water overnight, fully
submerged)
1 medium red onion, peeled and rough cut
3 scallions, rough cut
1 fresh jalapeño, seeded
1/4 (or more) bunch cilantro
1/4 (or more) bunch Italian parsley
Kosher salt to taste
2 teaspoon ground cumin
4 peeled garlic cloves

Evil Ronnie's Yogurt-Tahini Sauce:
1 cup plain yogurt
half a cup of sesame tahini paste
juice of one lemon
1 teaspoon maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
Place the garbanzos in a large bowl and cover with water by several inches. Soak for 24 hours, adding more water as necessary to keep all the beans submerged.

Drain the garbanzos well. Run everything through a grinder, or process in batches in a food processor. Shape into patties, compressing the mixture between your hands. Fry the patties in vegetable or light olive or vegetable oil until crisp.

Serve with fresh pita bread, lettuce, tomato, pickles, tahini sauce, and the hot sauce of your choice.