As usual, this is my adaptation of a classic recipe and, as usual, there's a good reason for the adaptation. I'll explain. If you've ever travelled in the Middle East, you'll know that falafal is usually sold in shops where they specialise in it and very little else - maybe humus too. The falafal is deep fried in large batches and people often queue up to get it fresh from the pan. Such falafal is delicious, but the technique doesn't transfer very well to the home. Deep frying for a start - messy, wasteful, heavy on calories and, depending on what condition you're in, often dangerous - not the kind of thing you really want to do every day and it tends to work well only when you are making large amounts. A huge batch of falafal is great - as long as you eat it straight away. This is the second drawback of the classic recipe. It includes baking soda, which makes the falafal light and fluffy when it comes out the pan, but also means they'll be dry and stale within half an hour.
If you fancy frying up a bunch of falafal the traditional way, go ahead. I won't give you the recipe here (I'm not very sure of it now) but you'll find it somewhere. I had a nice book once, simply called 'Lebanese Cooking' and it had a good recipe in it.
If you fancy trying my version, shallow fried and without soda, here it is. Not a patch on the original, but rather tasty nonetheless.
The quantities here will make about 40 falafals. You can freeze some on sheets of aluminium foil or greaseproof paper, then seal them in a plastic bag. They will keep for weeks in the freezer. Alternatively, you can eat them all at once. It saves the hassle.
Ingredients
5 mugs of cooked chick-peas
2 green chillies, finely chopped
A small bunch of green coriander, chopped
A 2 cm piece of root ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 tsp. whole coriander seeds
3 cloves of garlic
4 rounded tablespoons of flour
1 tablespoon of oil
Salt
Mash the chick-peas with your weapon of choice. The mixture doesn't need to be completely smooth. Pound all the other ingredients, except the flour and oil, with a pestle and mortar and stir the mixture into the chick-peas. Stir in the flour, then the oil and mash the mixture until it begins to form a thick paste. If you think it's too dry, add a little water or cooking liquid from the peas, but just a little. The mixture should be very dry and stiff.
Use your hands to make the falafals - little patties about 5 cm in diameter and 2 cm thick - and dust them with flour. The easiest way to do this is to lay them on a plate sprinkled with flour then turn them over.
Fry your falafal in a little oil on a medium heat, for about five minutes each side. Let them get nice and golden and crispy. The best way to serve them is in sandwiches. Pitta bread is particularly good. You could add shredded lettuce or cabbage, raw onion, tomato - it's up to you.