Falafel with Tzatziki sauce is a traditional staple recipe of the Middle-East. I wanted to make a whole Greek Platter(coming up), so trying to include all the possible Greek recipes in the platter. Falafel is made with chickpeas and they need a handful of ingredients to start with. They are crispy, crunchy outside, and moist, soft inside. They are gluten-free and soy-free.
The tzatziki sauce is the tangy sauce that goes well with falafel. I prepared Tzatziki sauce as dairy-free, vegan, keto-friendly, and paleo-friendly. We are going to use a creamy paste of cashews to make it vegan and diet-friendly.
These Falafels are good as a starter with tzatziki sauce or avocado hummus. Great as a sandwich for lunch/dinner. It is definitely a crowd-pleaser recipe.
Food for the thought
– Kurt Vonnegut
You can’t just eat good food. You’ve got to talk about it too. And you’ve got to talk about it to somebody who understands that kind of food.
Benefits of the ingredients (source)
Chickpeas As a rich source of vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Additionally, they are high in protein.
parsley is a low-calorie, nutrient-dense herb. It’s particularly rich in vitamins K, A, and C.
Video for Falafel with Tzatziki sauce
Variations
You can use fava beans in place of chickpeas. Fava bean falafel is Egyptian style.
For herbs, you can use a combination of cilantro and parsley or only cilantro.
I have used oat flour as a binding agent. You can use all-purpose flour or garbanzo flour(chickpeas flour).
For cooking falafel, I have given few options below.
How to prepare falafel?
- You have to plan ahead to prepare falafel. We need a list of ingredients and the chickpeas/garbanzo beans have to be soaked overnight.
- Soak dry garbanzo beans overnight. Never use canned beans.
- then it is the grinding part. In a processor, add beans, parsley, onions, garlic, and spices and pulse to a coarse paste. If using the blender, use pulse mode.
- Mix the binding agent, and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
- Form a small shaped ball and deep fry it.
Ways to fry falafel
There are four different ways you can cook the falafel.
Deep fry method: Falafel cooked in this method is a traditional way of cooking and has a crunchy and crispy outside, and soft inside.
Shallow fry method: In the shallow fry method, use little oil on the pan and cook falafel on a low-medium flame and fry on all sides. These falafel are not that crispy comparable to the deep-fry method.
Oven Method: You can cook falafel in the oven with no oil. This is an oil-free method. If you are on a diet or no oil for health conditions go for this method.
Air fryer method: I cannot comment on this, since I have not used it personally. By reading on many blogs, I think this too yield crispy balls.
By all these methods, I prefer the deep-fry method. I make falafel once in a while. So I don’t want to compromise the taste.
What flour should I use in Falafel?
Garbanzo flour is usually used as the binding agent. Alternatively, you can use all-purpose flour, oat flour, or rice flour. I have tried with each different flour. The first choice would be chickpeas flour, then the rice flour.
Vegan Tzatziki sauce
This sauce is keto-friendly, great for vegan. Use English cucumbers for less water content. Grate the cucumbers, add olive oil, chopped dill, and pepper to taste. Mix and refrigerate it. Soak the cashews and grind to a smooth paste. Before serving mix cucumber paste and salt.
If you are not vegan, mix Greek yogurt in place of cashew nut paste.
Other Greek recipe you may like
Avocado Hummus
Briami (Greek Roasted vegetables)
Notes
- If the balls don’t hold together, add 1 tablespoon of garbanzo flour each time until it holds together.
- Do not add more flour, it will become dry. It should just hold together.
Falafel with Tzatziki sauce
Ingredients
Falafel
- 1.5 cups chickpeas
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 cup parsley chopped
- 1 tsp cayenne powder
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp coriander powder or 2 tsp coriander seeds
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 2-3 tbsp oat flour or garbanzo flour
- pepper and salt to taste
Tzatziki sauce
- 1/4 cup English cucumbers grated
- 1 tbsp dill leves chopped
- 1/4 cup cashew nut paste
- 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Falafel
- Soak 1.5 cups of chickpeas in plenty of water overnight. After soaking, rinse, and drain.
- In a processor, add chickpeas, onion, garlic, parsley, cayenne, coriander seeds or powder, salt, and pepper to taste.
- Pulse all the ingredients coarsely. Remove any bigger chickpeas and discard it.
- Add the oat flour or garbanzo flour and mix well. Refrigerate them for 1-2 hours.
- Add 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1/4 tsp of baking soda and mix well.
- Use a scoop or 2 tablespoon to take the dough and form a small ball out of it. Fill a saucepan with any neutral oil of 2-inch depth.
- During the high smoke point, drop 6-7 falafel balls slowly in the oil and fry on both sides until golden brown.
- Remove from the oil and drain them in the paper towel. Continue for all the falafel balls.
Tzatiki sauce
- Grate the cucumber and remove the juice. Add chopped dill, olive oil, pepper, and salt to taste. Refrigerate until use.
- Add cashew paste and lemon juice and serve immediately.
Notes
- If using a thermometer, the ideal temperature will be around 350°F – 375°F.
- Whole coriander seeds give more flavor if you don’t have use grounder coriander powder.
- I like to add my leavening agent (baking powder and soda) before frying. In the video, I have included the processor itself.
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