This afternoon a wild hair grew up my ass to try this recipe. You’re supposed to soak the chick-peas twenty-four hours until they triple in size. After four or five they’d already tripled, and when I bit one, it was soaked through, so I went ahead with the recipe, eighteen hours early.
I followed approximately his recipe. If you watch the film clip on the NY Times site, you see him using an idiotic, weak blender. He turns the falafel into a runny paste, which really isn’t how the recipe describes it. I used my monstrous magi-mix food processor, so I had everything nicely diced and cut up, but not pureed.
The chronic problem in my kitchen is that my stove really isn’t hot enough for deep frying. It’s got to be going downhill in fifth gear before it barely creeps up to 350F and as soon as a passenger gets in, it bogs down to 300. This sucks because it means there is not enough steam generated to keep the oil at bay. It way ok for the watery falafel (not grease-logged) but means it’s impossible to make french fries. It also means an ice-cream sized scooper makes balls a touch bigger than suitable for my pot.
I put in more spices than he called for, and I wish I had put in even more. Next time I’ll add some fennel, too.
The best touch I provided was mixing some plain, homemade yogurt up with a teaspoon of cinnamon. Cinnamon in yogurt eaten with savory things gives a refined little *pop* to the meal. In fact, that might have been the best thing from my trip to Dubai, eating camel at a morroccan restaurant, the yogurt had cinammon taint. (The camel kofta was totally uninteresting. If you had told me it was lamb, I would have believed you.)
I have some falafel left-over. Mister merrily gobbled one down. Mona sniffed and licked hers, but ultimatley abandoned it. She is pure carnivore. Mister is a grazing pasture dog as far as we can tell. Loves to go eat bit of sweet grass next door and loves fruit and vegetables.
The Minimalist
For the Best Falafel, Do It All Yourself
By MARK BITTMAN
YOU cannot say enough about falafel. These seasoned fritters are among the best things you can make with chickpeas, they’re easy and rewarding to fry (perfect for novice deep-fryers) and they are vegetarian.
Unlike other bean fritters, falafel is made from uncooked beans. The cooking goes best when the beans are soaked for a full day in plenty of water.
Yes, you can make falafel with canned beans, but the difference in both texture and taste is pronounced. Dried beans are the way to go.
There are two keys to making good falafel. First, keep the amount of water you use when grinding the beans to an absolute minimum. More water makes grinding easier, but it also virtually guarantees that the batter will fall apart when it hits the hot oil. If this happens, bind the remaining mixture by stirring in a little flour.
For this reason, a food processor or very powerful blender is essential; you don’t want a blender that isn’t strong enough to grind the beans without adding too much water.
The second essential step is to get the oil hot enough: 350 degrees or a little higher. If you don’t have a thermometer, just wait until the oil shimmers and then add a pinch of the batter. When it sizzles immediately, sinks about halfway to the bottom, then rises to the top, the oil is ready. If it sinks and stays down, the oil is too cold; if it doesn’t sink at all, the oil is too hot.
Once you get the batter and the oil right, your little patties or balls will brown readily and evenly; they won’t spatter at all.
You can serve falafel in a pita with lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers and other raw vegetables; or with a green salad.
If you want a fast tahini sauce, mix equal amounts of tahini and yogurt, and season to taste with a little salt, pepper, cumin, raw garlic if you like, and lemon juice. Not-too-hot chili paste is another good accompaniment.
Recipe: Falafel
Time: 1 hour, plus 24 hours’ soaking
1 3/4 cup dried chickpeas
2 cloves garlic, lightly crushed
1 small onion, quartered
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon ground cumin
Scant teaspoon cayenne, or to taste
1 cup chopped parsley or cilantro leaves
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Neutral oil, like grapeseed or corn, for frying.
1. Put beans in a large bowl and cover with water by 3 or 4 inches; they will triple in volume. Soak for 24 hours, adding water if needed to keep beans submerged.
2. Drain beans well (reserve soaking water) and transfer to a food processor. Add remaining ingredients except oil; pulse until minced but not puréed, scraping sides of bowl down; add soaking water if necessary to allow machine to do its work, but no more than 1 or 2 tablespoons. Keep pulsing until mixture comes together. Taste, adding salt, pepper, cayenne or lemon juice to taste.
3. Put oil in a large, deep saucepan to a depth of at least 2 inches; more is better. The narrower the saucepan the less oil you need, but the more oil you use the more patties you can cook at a time. Turn heat to medium-high and heat oil to about 350 degrees (a pinch of batter will sizzle immediately).
4. Scoop heaping tablespoons of batter and shape into balls or small patties. Fry in batches, without crowding, until nicely browned, turning as necessary; total cooking time will be less than 5 minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature.
Yield: 6 to 8 servings.
