Fried Green Falafels

Time: 2 hours

Servings: 10-12 falafel balls

Ingredients:

1 can chickpeas, drained 1.5 cups

2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

¼ cup red onion, roughly chopped (The rest of the onion can be pickled!!- recipe below)

¾ cup cilantro, chopped

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

3 Tbsp bread crumbs (can replace with 2-3 Tbsp flour)

¼ cup all-purpose flour

½ tsp pink Himalayan salt (increase to 1 tsp if using kosher)

¾ tsp baking powder

¾ tsp dried ground cardamom

¾ tsp dried ground cumin

½ tsp coriander

½ tsp black pepper

1 quart of oil, for frying

Pickled Red Onions

1 red onion, sliced into strips or rings

½ cup apple cider vinegar

¾ cup water, warmed to about 135*F

¼ brown sugar

1 ½ tsp salt

1 bay leaf

1 tsp black peppercorns

¼ tsp allspice

*Combine liquids and seasoning in a small pitcher. Stir 30 seconds to dissolve sugar. Slice onions and place in a 4 cup jar. Cover with pickling liquid. Make sure onion slices are completely covered. Leave at room temp for 2-3 hours. Store leftovers in an airtight jar in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Directions:

1. Make your pickled onion first since they have to marinate for a couple of hours!

2. In the bowl of a medium sized food processor, pulse your chickpeas 8-10 times to break them up into smaller pieces. This step will ensure that you don't over mix your falafels!

3. Add garlic, cilantro, onion, and oil. Mix for about 20 seconds.

4. Add remaining ingredients and mix. Scrape down the sides as needed.

5. Chill for 30 minutes. During this times, heat up your oil in a large pot or table top deep fryer.

6. Scoop out spoons fulls of dough and shape then shape into golf ball sized balls. They can be frozen at this point if you want to cook them later. They can also be mashed into patty shapes for burgers!

7. Preheat oven to 375*F.

8. Fry golf ball-sized balls in 350* oil for 5 minutes, drain them on a paper towel and sprinkle with salt immediately. Then bake for 8 minutes at 375*F.

9. Allow them to cool for 5 minutes before eating!

I use this frying + baking method to keep the falafel from absorbing too much oil.

For the burger patty shaped falafel, cooking instructions are the same!