Falafel With Taratoor Sauce

evelyn/athens's Note:

Falafel have got to be the tastiest little fritters ever devised by a cook - and they're good for you too! The Taratoor Sauce also makes a great dipping sauce for crudites, so don't just make it for falafel. The chickpeas do need to soak for at least 12 hours, so take that into consideration. Otherwise, very easy.

• Total Time: 35 mins
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 5 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 500 ml dried garbanzo beans (absolutely not canned)
• 1 medium onion , quartered
• 2 -3 garlic cloves
• 2 -3 slices stale bread
• 50 ml parsley
• 1⁄3; sweet red pepper
• 10 ml salt
• 3 ml black pepper
• 10 ml cumin
• 10 ml oregano
• 10 ml ground coriander
• 5 ml hot red pepper flakes
• 20 ml flour
• 10 ml baking powder
• 50 ml water
• 5 ml baking powder
• 125 ml water
• vegetable oil (for deep frying)

Taratoor Sauce

• 175 ml tahini , sesame seed paste, stir tahini before measuring
• 1 garlic clove , crushed
• 1 1/2 to 2 lemon, juice of
• 175 ml water
• 5 ml salt
• 50 ml finely chopped parsley

Garnishes

• tomato , slices (optional)
• dill pickle slices (optional)
• chopped parsley (optional)
• fresh spearmint (I hate to say optional, I think this is essential!) (optional)

Directions:

1. Place chickpeas in a large bowl, cover generously with water and soak overnight (at least 12 hours and up to 24).
2. Drain chickpeas. Add onion, garlic, bread, parsley, and red sweet pepper. Run through the fine blade of a meat grinder. (You may process in food processor until mealy.) Add spices, flour, 10 mL (2 tsp) baking powder and water. Mix well.
3. In a small dish mix the remaining baking powder and water. Use it to moisten the palm of your hands and form balls of the chickpea mixture the size of walnuts, then flatten a bit (basically a slightly flattened meatball shape).
4. Deep fry in oil at medium high heat until golden brown.
5. Serve piping hot (these can be made ahead and frozen- rewarm in the oven).
6. Serving Suggestion: Using a 6-inch Arabic pita bread, lay 4-5 falafel (this depends on how big you've made them) down the length of the pita. Turn the pita over the falafel and using the heels of your hands, smoosh down on the falafels (not so hard that you totally melt them, but hard enough to flatten them somewhat). Open the pita again and add fixings of your choice. We like slices of tomato, dill pickle and a hearty sprinkle of parsley and LOTS and LOTS of fresh spearmint. Dress with sauce. Roll up as in a sandwich wrap and enjoy an extremely flavourful sandwich!
7. For Taratoor Sauce: In a deep bowl beat the tahini with the crushed garlic and lemon juice until creamy. Add water bit by bit, beating well after each addition If using blender put all the ingredients in and blend. Add salt and parsley and stir. Taste and add more lemon juice if needed - the sauce should be tangy.
8. Refrigerate until ready to use. This is also a great dip for crudites.

Reviews

[MmmGarlic]

We had to cut our trip to Egypt short due to the protests, so I was looking to cook some meals that we should have had more of, including falafel and tahini sauce. I chose to make this recipe because of the taratoor sauce, and boy, am I glad I did. It tasted just like what we were served in Egypt (minus a sprinkle of ground cumin on top). The falafel was quite tasty too, though I felt the spices could easily be increased by 1.5. In the future I'll increase the parsley and add cilantro as well. My first three fell apart as soon as they hit the hot fat, but then I started packing them like I would a hamburger patty and they stayed together perfectly after that (or perhaps that was the time the flour needed to bind?). Many thanks to evelyn/athens for another great recipe!

[Ellen E]

I enjoyed this very much. I used chickpeas that had previously been soaked overnight then cooked until tender. Also, halfway through the recipe I realized that there was absolutely no bread in the house so I substituted a few tablespoons of atta flour and it worked perfectly. This was my first time making the taratoor sauce. It was quick, easy, and oh so tasty. Thanks for a great recipe.

[Kabwe Cook]

My first attempt at falafel and what a fantastic flavor! I had trouble getting the mixture to stick together, which is why I'm giving 4 stars. It might have been me, though. Anyway, I'll make it again just for the flavor! Thanks, Evelyn!