MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06

Title: Fluffy Falafel
Categories: Middle-, Eastern
Yield: 32 Falafels

1 lb Dry chickpeas (not canned,
-they will not work!)
1/2 ts Baking soda
1 sm Onion; roughly chopped
1/4 c Fresh parsley; chopped
3 cl Garlic; up to 5, optionally
-roasted
1 1/2 tb Flour or chickpea flour
1 3/4 ts Salt
2 ts Cumin
1 ts Ground coriander
1/4 ts Black pepper
1/4 ts Cayenne pepper
1 pn Ground cardamom
1 ts Baking powder; for fluffy
-falafal (optional)
Vegetable oil; for frying

MMMMM------------------SESAME FALAFEL VARIATION-----------------------
Sesame seeds

MMMMM----------------HERB FALAFEL VARIATION, (GRE---------------------
1/2 c Additional parsley,
-cilantro, or combination;
-chopped

MMMMM----------------TURMERIC FALAFEL, (YELLOW FA---------------------
3/4 ts Turmeric

MMMMM-----------------EGYPTIAN FAVA BEAN FALAFEL----------------------
1 lb Dry fava beans; substitute
-for chickpeas
1 Leek; cleaned, trimmed, and
-quartered
1/4 c Dill; chopped
1/4 c Cilantro; chopped
3/4 ts Additional cayenne pepper
2 1/2 tb Sesame seeds

Preparation time: 12 hours

One Day Ahead:

Pour the chickpeas into a large bowl and cover them by about 3" of
cold water. Add 1/2 ts of baking soda to the water and stir; this
will help soften the chickpeas. Cover the bowl and let them soak
overnight in a cool, dark place or in the refrigerator. The chickpeas
should soak at least 12 hours and up to 24 hours, until tender
(change soaking water for fresh water after 12 hours). They will
double in size as they soak--you will have between 4 and 5 cups of
beans after soaking.

Drain and rinse the chickpeas well. Pour them into your food processor
along with the chopped onion, garlic cloves, parsley, flour or
chickpea flour (use chickpea flour to make gluten free), salt, cumin,
ground coriander, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and cardamom.

Note: if you have a smaller food processor, you will want to divide
the ingredients in half and process the mixture one batch at a time.

Pulse all ingredients together until a rough, coarse meal forms.
Scrape the sides of the processor periodically and push the mixture
down the sides. Process until the mixture is somewhere between the
texture of couscous and a paste. You want the mixture to hold
together, and a more paste-like consistency will help with that...
but don't over-process, you don't want it turning into hummus!

Once the mixture reaches the desired consistency, pour it out into a
bowl and use a fork to stir; this will make the texture more even
throughout. Remove any large chickpea chunks that the processor
missed.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours.

Note: Some people like to add baking powder or baking soda to the mix
to lighten up the texture inside of the falafel balls. I don't
usually add it, since the falafel is generally pretty fluffy on its
own. If you would like to add it, stir 1 tsp of baking powder into
the falafel mixture after it has been refrigerated.

Fill a skillet with vegetable oil to a depth of 1-1/2". I prefer to
use cooking oil with a high smoke point, like grapeseed. Heat the oil
slowly over medium heat. The ideal temperature to fry falafel is
between 360 and 375°F; the best way to monitor the temperature is to
use a deep fry or candy thermometer. After making these a few times,
you will start to get a feel for when the oil temperature is "right."

Meanwhile, form falafel mixture into round balls or slider-shaped
patties using wet hands or a falafel scoop. I usually use about 2 tb
of mixture per falafel. You can make them smaller or larger depending
on your personal preference. The balls will stick together loosely at
first, but will bind nicely once they begin to fry.

continued in part 2

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