Falafel Recipe

I love Falafels. Our family have eaten out a lot less since we’ve had kids. Since my husband inspired our family to have less meat now in our life, we have an abundance of chickpeas. I found this recipe off Pinterest (May I Have That Recipe Blog–Green Falafel with Tahini- though we omitted the Tahini because Olivia’s allergy to sesame)and served it over a middle eastern styled yellow rice, white sauce and cucumbers. I adjusted the recipe based on the ingredients we at at hand:

Falafel Ingredients

1 cup raw chickpeas ( rinsed and soaked overnight)

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp paprika

1 tsp coriander powder

1 cup cilantro

1 cup parsley

2 tbsp olive oil

Salt to taste

Steps for Falafel:

1- Drain chickpeas and put all the ingredients above in blender and pulse until well mixed, but not complexly smooth. You can adjust the fineness if the grind spending on how you like your chickpeas. I over mixed it a little more than last time I made falafel and the balls fell apart easier than last time.

2-Make falafel into 2 inch balls (or whatever size to your liking).

3- Heat 2tbsp of oil on non-stick medium low and pan fry for about 5-7 minutes on each side.

The yellow rice recipe I got off a Serious Eats Thread on Halal Chicken (the reader recommended a yellow rice recipe off food network) and just added onions to it.

Yellow rice ingredients:

1 onion sliced

2 cups of cooked white rice

1-2tbsp butter or ghee

1/4 tsp cumin

3/4 tsp turmeric

Pinch if cinnamon

Salt to taste

Steps for Yellow Rice:

1- Heat up 2 tbsp of better in the pan and add in onions and pan fry until wilted.

2- Add in salt to taste, cumin and turmeric and pan fry for another minute or 2.

3- Add in the cooked rice and mix around.

4- Optional: Add fresh chopped cilantro

The white sauce recipe I also found in the same chowhound thread (they got it from Nibbledish.com). It’s pretty amazing and addictive! It’s just the right amount of tart with the right amount of sweetness to balance it. Yummy in chicken, salad and rice!

White Sauce Ingredients :

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 tsp fresh squeezed lemon

2 tbsp white vinegar

1/4 cup water

1 tsp of sugar (if it is too tart)

Steps for White Sauce:

Mix it all up!

**Note: If you like it spicy, I use the Sambal Hot Sauce from the asian supermarket.

Stay tuned for the best Halal Chicken Recipe I found which I also serve with the yellow rice and white sauce. Sometimes I serve it with toasted pita bread. Yum!