Why was my falafel awful?

[Django!]

Went to the Co-op today. Picked up some fresh chickpeas and some tahini as well, so I can make some hummus if it comes down to it.

Also, I'm male.

As far as being vegan, no, I'm not. I'll try the egg and if that doesn't work, I may try a piece of white bread.

 

[Django!]

Awesome.

Wal Mart of all places, has falafel mix. I bought some and will be giving it a taste test soon. However...

This is the fruit of my labor.

Made some hummus to start off with. I tried to experiment a bit, and added pesto. A bit too much pesto. So, while it was only okay on a cracker, It goes nicely with some noodles. Threw in some tomatoes, black and green olives, and a small amount of feta.

 

[karadekoolaid]

So the final dish was fusilli, not falafel!
As long as it tasted good...

 

[Django!]

So the final dish was fusilli, not falafel!
As long as it tasted good...

Nah, I just gave up on falafel for the moment. Gonna try again this weekend, though. Made my first batch of humus instead.

 

[JoieMichelle]

Do you have a recipe that you could share with me?

This is the recipe I used. I did not use any parsley, and I think I used a smaller amount of baking powder, as it was the last little bit that I had. Everything was chopped up extra fine, save the onion, which was a bit chunky. I've referenced a few websites since I made this thread, and I'm beginning to think that the lack of backing powder/bread is what caused it to have a funky taste and fall to pieces.
[*]1 15 oz. can chickpeas
[*]1 medium onion, finely chopped
[*]1 tablespoon minced garlic
[*]2 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
[*]1 teaspoon coriander
[*]3/4 teaspoon cumin
[*]1/2 teaspoon salt
[*]1/2 teaspoon baking powder
[*]oil for frying (canola or vegetable)Thanks for the replies, everyone!

This is the recipe I used with the same result. The first time was a total loss. The second time I dried the chick peas all day before making it & did a test run in the oil. It was going to be a failure too so I used an egg wash & bread crumbs to make a crust. This mostly worked.
Next I'll give the raw chick peas a try. Thanks for this post!

 

[JoieMichelle]

Hi, Django ( like Django Reinhardt, yeah?)!
First thing about making falafel. You can't use canned chickpeas, as they are cooked. You have to soak dried chickpeas overnight (8 hours) then blend them to a rough paste.Raw chickpeas, in other words. I'd also suggest blending the garlic and onion ( just a very little bit) with the chickpeas.
the spices wouldn't have made any difference. Oh, and no water, unless your chickpea mixture is very very dry. If so, add just a little!
Second point could be the temperature of the oil. I do not possess a thermometer, nor a deep fryer, so my test is do drop a tiny bit of the mixture in the oil before I start frying. If it bubbles and rises immediately to the surface, then it's ready . Remember that, as you add the falafel to the oil, the temperature will drop, so you must be vigilant. Don't poke the falafel about until you're certain they are semi-crisp on the outside; ie. if you start poking them before they're fried, they'll come apart.
Finally - keep trying. Yes, keep trying. I seem to remember I did exactly the same thing some 15 years ago, with the same results as you.
Don't be disheartened - cooking is experimenting until you get it right!

Thank you Clive! I will give this a try. I hate wasting my fresh herbs...

 

[KatyCooks]

What an interesting thread!

I too have had nothing but disaster with my previous Falafel attempts and had actually given up on ever producing any at home.

However, I am now spurred on to try again and bought some dried chickpeas today. (All my previous attempts - from different recipes - featured tinned chickpeas, but I find the idea of trying the other kind quite interesting). Not sure exactly when I will make the attempt, but we shall see how it goes. (If this attempt fails as miserably as the previous ones, then I really am going to give up permanently!)

 

[JoieMichelle]

What an interesting thread!

I too have had nothing but disaster with my previous Falafel attempts and had actually given up on ever producing any at home.

However, I am now spurred on to try again and bought some dried chickpeas today. (All my previous attempts - from different recipes - featured tinned chickpeas, but I find the idea of trying the other kind quite interesting). Not sure exactly when I will make the attempt, but we shall see how it goes. (If this attempt fails as miserably as the previous ones, then I really am going to give up permanently!)

Hey Katy! I tried the dried chick peas last night with complete success! They were YUMMY & PERFECT! I would suggest adding a little baking powder though. They were much more dense this way.

 

[KatyCooks]

Hey Katy! I tried the dried chick peas last night with complete success! They were YUMMY & PERFECT! I would suggest adding a little baking powder though. They were much more dense this way.

Excellent! And baking powder - check.

How did you serve them JoieMichelle? I've had them as "street food" served in pita pockets, but is there a "plated" version?

 

[taxlady]

We order a "falafel" platter regularly. It comes with hummus, tahini sauce, tabouli, a little bit of pickled turnip, and a pita.

 

[KatyCooks]

We order a "falafel" platter regularly. It comes with hummus, tahini sauce, tabouli, a little bit of pickled turnip, and a pita.

Pickled turnip TL? This has piqued my interest. Just so I know we are talking about the same vegetable - this would be a small white round root vegetable, with a slightly pinkish purple hue to some of the skin?

 

[taxlady]

Pickled turnip TL? This has piqued my interest. Just so I know we are talking about the same vegetable - this would be a small white round root vegetable, with a slightly pinkish purple hue to some of the skin?

Yup, that's the one. There's a North African way of pickling turnips using a lactic acid method. They use beets to make them purple. They are yummy, but you don't want to eat much at once.

 

[acerbicacid]

Sorry, not falafel but the pickled turnips, really scrummy and a beautiful shocking pink. I use Claudia Roden's recipe - " Pickled Turnips recipe" but there are lots more on the web.

 

[KatyCooks]

Yup, that's the one. There's a North African way of pickling turnips using a lactic acid method. They use beets to make them purple. They are yummy, but you don't want to eat much at once.

Sounds completely fascinating!

 

[taxlady]

Sorry, not falafel but the pickled turnips, really scrummy and a beautiful shocking pink. I use Claudia Roden's recipe - " Pickled Turnips recipe" but there are lots more on the web.

Thank you for that recipe. I have printed the web page as a PDF.

It isn't clear from the recipe. Do I add the garlic, allspice, and coriander seeds to the brine or straight into the jars? Any idea how many hours of sun per day are needed?

 

[KatyCooks]

Sorry, not falafel but the pickled turnips, really scrummy and a beautiful shocking pink. I use Claudia Roden's recipe - " Pickled Turnips recipe" but there are lots more on the web.

By jove I think I'll try it! I find turnips pretty boring generally, but this could be an interesting way to liven them up. The recipe doesn't actually say what to do with the beetroot, but I guess you just peel it and slice it? Does it need pre-cooking since beetroot usually takes ages to soften? (Certainly a lot longer than turnips).

 

[acerbicacid]

I add the spices to the jar with the turnips plus 1 unpeeled garlic clove to each jar. I also add ½ cup vinegar with only 2 cups of the water (not sure if this is authentic but I like it). The beetroot is sliced and used raw, it makes the pickle a brilliant wonderful pink . I have never actually tried to eat the beetroot, I think it is just for natural colour, but I do have a recipe that uses raw beetroot in a stack but I wasn't too keen.

As for how long the sun is needed, I just leave it on the kitchen window sill - it gets the sun in the afternoon, if there is any here in the UK!! - for a couple of weeks and hope for the best.

Btw I use raw chickpeas for my falafel.

 

[KatyCooks]

I add the spices to the jar with the turnips plus 1 unpeeled garlic clove to each jar. I also add ½ cup vinegar with only 2 cups of the water (not sure if this is authentic but I like it). The beetroot is sliced and used raw, it makes the pickle a brilliant wonderful pink . I have never actually tried to eat the beetroot, I think it is just for natural colour, but I do have a recipe that uses raw beetroot in a stack but I wasn't too keen.

As for how long the sun is needed, I just leave it on the kitchen window sill - it gets the sun in the afternoon, if there is any here in the UK!! - for a couple of weeks and hope for the best.

Btw I use raw chickpeas for my falafel.

I hadn't spotted that you were a fellow Brit! And I was wondering about just how much sun my pickle jar would get on my kitchen windowsill!

I think I will add a little vinegar to my version too.

 

[Addie]

Django, a blender should work just fine as long as you've softened them up overnight in water as recommended above.

To get back on subject, grind them in the blender in small amounts. You may have to do it several times with small loads. When you use a blender you need to add liquid. Since the recipe says no liquid until after all the chick peas have been ground, then you must do them in small batches to get the best results.

 

[KatyCooks]

And grind them in the blender in small amounts. You may have to do it several times with small loads. When you use a blender you need to add liquid. Since the recipe says no liquid until after all the chick peas have been ground, then you must do them in small batches.

I'll have no choice about doing it in batches as it happens Addie, since I only have a mini blender!