Black Chickpea Falafels
Hearty, protein-packed black chickpea and tofu falafels
Ingredients
- 100 g dried black chickpeas (kala chana) washed and soaked overnight in a large pot of water
- 200 g firm tofu, drained of all liquid and cut into chunks
- 1 medium onion, roughly chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic
- A large handful of fresh coriander (both stems and leaves), washed and dried
- ½ + ½ tsp soda bicarbonate (baking soda)
- 3 tbsp chickpea flour (besan)
- 1 tsp cumin (jeera)powder
- ½ tsp chilli powder (cayenne)
- ¼ tsp black pepper powder
- 1 tsp sabe' baharat (Lebanese 7-spice mixture)
- Salt
- Oil for shallow frying
For sabe' baharat or Lebanese 7-spice mixture
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tbsp ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp allspice
- 1 tsp ground dried ginger (saunth)
- 1 tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp grated nutmeg
Instructions
- To make the Lebanese 7-spice mixture or sabe' baharat, thoroughly mix all the ground spices together and store in an airtight jar.
- Rinse the soaked chickpeas and cook in a pressure cooker with water upto 2 inches above the level of the chickpeas. Lower the flame to slow after the first whistle and cook for 15-20 minutes. Cool the cooker and drain the chickpeas in a strainer.
- In a food processor, blend the chickpeas, tofu, onion, garlic, coriander, all the spices, chickpea flour, ½ tsp baking soda and salt until you have a coarsely ground mixture.
- Shape the mixture into patties, 6 cm in diameter and 1½ cm in thickness or into smaller falafels 3.5 cm in diameter.
- Heat oil in a heavy frying pan on a medium flame. Drop a small pinch of the falafel mixture into the oil, if it sizzles, the oil is ready. Fry a few falafels at a time, taking care not to crowd the pan. Cook on each side for 3-4 min till brown and crisp. Drain on a wire rack and serve with tahini sauce.