Falafel

Falafel is a crisp-shelled, soft-inside chickpea ball, one of the favourites of Middle Eastern cooking – its secret is that it is made from raw, soaked chickpeas.

For the base

1. Soak the chickpeas in plenty of cold water the night before, so they swell to double their size. IMPORTANT: do not cook them, only soak them – from cooked chickpeas the mixture would fall apart.

2. Grind the drained, raw chickpeas together with the peeled onion and the garlic in a meat grinder or food processor into a coarse, crumbly mixture.

For seasoning

3. Mix in the cumin, the finely chopped parsley and the salt, then work it together thoroughly.

4. Put the mixture in the fridge to rest for 30 minutes, so it holds together better, then with wet hands shape it into walnut-sized balls or small patties.

For frying

5. Heat the oil in a deep pot to 170-180 °C – it is right when small bubbles immediately gather around a little piece of the mixture.

6. Fry the balls golden and crisp in the hot oil in several batches, then lift them onto paper towel to drain.

Tip: It only works with raw, soaked (not cooked) chickpeas – from tinned or cooked chickpeas the balls fall apart during frying.