Delicious falafel without the deep oil frying! Note: For this recipe, you need tosoak the chickpeas one day ahead.
Prep Time25 minutesmins
Cook Time15 minutesmins
Chill Time1 dayd
Total Time1 dayd40 minutesmins
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Servings: 32falafel balls
Calories: 58kcal
Equipment
1 Air Fryer
Ingredients
2cupsdry chickpeas(not canned, toasted, or cooked)
1smallyellow onion(quartered)
1cupfresh, chopped parsley
½cupfresh, chopped cilantro(optional, but delicious)
4largegarlic cloves(peeled)
2tbsp.chickpea flour
1tsp.salt
1½tsp.ground cumin
1½tsp.ground coriander
1tsp.ground black pepper
⅛tsp.ground cardamom
1tsp.baking powder
2tbsp.olive oil
Instructions
(One day ahead): In a large bowl, add the dry chickpeas and water to cover them by about 3 inches. Soak overnight and have in mind that the chickpeas will double in size as they soak, for this reason, choose a bigger container. Cover and place the container inside the refrigerator for 24 hours.
Remove the chickpeas from the refrigerator, drain them and rinse with running water to remove any skins floating in the water. Leave them draining while preparing the other ingredients.In your food processor, add the drained chickpeas, the herbs, and spices, along with the baking powder.
Pulse until you get a smooth consistency. (Pulse several times instead of doing a long pulse. This will help your processor to work properly, and this way you’ll be able to spot big chunks. Use a spatula to remove big chickpea chunks or herbs that are stuck on the food processor walls, and pulse again. The desired consistency is a smooth mixture, but definitely not a purée. You should be able to spot little chickpea chunks, like a finely minced onion. )
Using a small ice cream or cookie scoop, make small balls and place them on a baking sheet separately. The desired consistency should allow you to hold the ball in your hands, and the mixture should hold together without breaking or splitting. In case the balls won't hold together, you need to process the mixture once again and make sure to get a paste-like consistency. After this step, if the falafel balls won’t hold together, you need to identify the issue: If the mixture is too wet, try adding 1 tbsp of chickpea flour first and test the consistency, if not, add another tablespoon and test once again. If the mixture is too dry, add 1 tbsp (or 2) of water to the mixture and test the consistency. It is important to keep the balls separated. If you put them next to each other in a bowl, they will stick to each other and the ones at the bottom will deform, and you’ll have a hard time maintaining the ball shape. This is why placing them separated on a baking sheet will make things easier for you and will keep the balls in a nice shape.Place the balls inside the refrigerator for at least 1 hour (preferably 2). This step is crucial to get a stronger consistency that will help to maintain the shape when the balls are inside the air fryer.
Remove the falafel balls from the refrigerator and place them inside the air fryer basket separately.Inside the air fryer basket, brush the falafel balls with olive oil using a basting/pastry brush. Or, you can spray the falafel balls with olive oil spray.
Cook the falafel balls at 350 ºF for 10minutes. Then, remove the air fryer basket and shake it to move the balls around, and cook for 5 more minutes. If the mixture is well-prepared, the falafel won’t break apart while cooking. When ready, the falafel balls should have a golden brown color on the outside. The perfect falafel is crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.
Place the falafel balls in a wire rack and let them cool for 5 minutes, then serve immediately. You can serve falafel alone, or you can also assemble the falafel balls in pita bread with tomato slices, cucumber slices, lettuce &tahini sauce. Enjoy!The trick with falafel is to only make as much as you want to eat in one sitting. Falafel does not keep its crispy outside after being stored in the fridge and reheated. It also tends to dry out a bit on the inside. So it's best to make, serve and eat this immediately for the best texture.
Notes
Please note that the nutrition data given here is a ballpark figure. Exact data is not possible.