Go Back
–+ servings

Any Legume Falafel

5 from 2 votes
Falafel made from any legume is a versatile twist on the traditional Middle Eastern classic that is traditionally made from either chickpeas or fava beans. This approach allows you to create crispy falafel using pretty much any legume - from chickpeas to lentils or even green peas. That way, you can easily make use of leftovers or explore legumes that were grown locally.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time45 minutes
Total Time1 hour
Servings4

Ingredients  

Falafel

  • 200 g mixed legumes (I used chickpeas, peas and lentils)
  • 1 onion
  • 5 garlic cloves
  • 1 green chilli
  • 40 g coriander
  • 40 g parsley
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • 1 l vegetable oil for frying

Tahini sauce

  • 80 g tahini
  • 4 tbsp lemon
  • 1 garlic clove

Instructions 

  1. To make the falafel, soak the legumes overnight in 3x the amount of water.
  2. The next day, drain the legumes and add them to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse them fine enough so that you can press them into balls that don’t instantly fall apart. Don’t overwork them though, or the falafel will become dense. Tip out the ground legumes and set aside.
  3. Peel and roughly chop the onion and garlic. Trim the chilli and chop it into large pieces. Add the onion, garlic, chilli, coriander and parsley including their stalks as well as 1 tsp salt to the bowl of a food processor and pulse until fine.
  4. Add the chopped aromatics and herbs to the legumes along with the spices and use your hands to mix everything together. Then refrigerate the mixture for at least 15 minutes.
  5. Heat the vegetable oil to around 170°C. If you don’t have a thermometer, you can later use the first falafel to test the heat. In the meantime, with wet hands shape the mixture into 15-18 falafel balls (around 30g each).
  6. To test the temperature of the oil only add one ball. It should turn slightly golden within 2 minutes. If it takes longer, wait for the oil to become a bit hotter and test with another ball. Once the oil is hot fry 4-6 balls at a time for 4 minutes until they are crispy and dark golden. Make sure not to overcrowd the pan or they might fall apart.
  7. Cover a cooling rack with paper towels. Once the falafel are cooked, place them on the paper towels to let any excess oil drain off. Continue with the rest until all the falafel are fried.
  8. In the meantime, make a quick tahini sauce by mixing the tahini and lemon juice with 1 tbsp of water and 1/2 tsp salt. Mix it together until thickened, then keep adding small amounts of water until you can drizzle the tahini from a spoon. Grate or crush in the garlic and mix well. Then serve alongside the falafel.

Notes

Note: Take it a step further and turn your falafel into the ultimate Pita Sandwich.
Storage: Keep covered at room temperature for 1 day. Don’t refrigerate or they will turn soggy.