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Years ago when we were on an extremely tight budget, I found a recipe for falafel and began making it. I don’t remember where the recipe came from, but it wasn’t a good recipe, and I force fed it to my family several times in the name of eating frugally.
Finally, we took a long break from falafel. Then I decided to rework that recipe and make a much better version. One of the things that made it better was actually frying it in a pan. Before, I baked it. While frying isn’t necessarily the healthiest way to eat anything, you don’t really use that much oil, and it makes it SO much more delicious. Trust me; it’s worth it! At least give this easy falafel a try, and let me know how it goes.
Cheap and Easy Falafel Recipe
One of the best parts about this recipe is how frugal it is!
These are all the ingredients you need. Most of them you probably have in your pantry!
The first step is to drain the beans and rinse them off.
Then put all the beans in the food processor. Three cans of beans is about all my 10-cup food processor can take!
Then add the minced garlic, salt, and cumin.
Process it until all of the chickpeas are ground up. You may have to scrape the sides a few times. In this picture, I ran the food processor a few more times.
Before you continue to work on the falafel mix, heat up about ½ cup of canola or other neutral oil in a deep pot over medium-high heat. Let it heat up while you continue working on the falafel.
Once you have it at the right consistency, add the baking powder and about ¼ cup (4 tbsp.) of flour. You may have to add up to ¼ cup more in order to get the right consistency.
You want the consistency to be such that you can form a ball as shown in the picture. If the ball isn’t sticking together, add another tbsp. Of flour until you can form a ball.
While you’re waiting for the oil to get hot, go ahead and keep making some more balls.
You’ll know the oil is hot when you can flick a drop of water in and it sizzles. Once the oil is hot enough, press the falafel balls between yor hands and make them into patties.
Use a slotted spoon or spatula to place 5-6 falafel patties at a time in the oil. Cook on each side for about 2-3 minutes.
Once the patties are brown on both sides, you’ll know the’yre done!
Place the finished falafels on a plate lined with paper towels.
Keep working until you’ve used up all the falafel mixture.
The last step before you finish is to whip up a quick sauce that makes the falafel even more delicious. Just mix together the sour cream, minced garlic, lemon juice, salt, and parsley. You can also use plain Greek yogurt, if you want.
Serve the falafel stuffed inside pita bread with the sauce on top, and then enjoy!
Ingredients
- 3 15 oz cans chickpeas
- 3 tbsp. Dried parsley
- 6 cloves Minced garlic
- 1.5 tsp salt
- 1.5 tsp cumin
- 1.5 tsp baking powder $0.03
- 4-8 tbsp. flour
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 1/2 cup sour cream (or plain Greek yogurt)
- 1 tbsp. Lemon juice
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp. Salt
- 1 tsp. Parsley
Directions
- Drain the beans in a colander and rinse them with cold water.
- Put all the beans in the food processor. Then add the minced garlic, salt, and cumin.
- Process it until all of the chickpeas are ground up. You may have to scrape the sides a few times.
- Before you continue to work on the falafel mix, heat up about ½ cup of canola or other neutral oil in a deep pot over medium-high heat. Let it heat up while you continue working on the falafel. (You’ll know it’s hot enough when you can flick a drop of water and it sizzles.
- Once you have it at the right consistency, add the baking powder and about ¼ cup (4 tbsp.) of flour. You may have to add up to ¼ cup more in order to get the right consistency.
- While you’re waiting for the oil to get hot, go ahead and keep making some more balls.
- Once the oil is hot enough, press the falafel balls between your hands and make them into patties.
- Use a slotted spoon or spatula to place 5-6 falafel patties at a time in the oil. Cook on each side for about 2-3 minutes until they’re brown on both sides.
- Place the finished patties on a plate lined with paper towels.
- For the yogurt sauce, mix together the sour cream, minced garlic, lemon juice, salt, and parsley. You can also use plain Greek yogurt, if you want.
- Serve the falafel stuffed inside pita bread with the sauce on top, and then enjoy!
