Falafel Pita Sandwich

 Falafel Pita Sandwich

Our Falafel Pita Sandwich is made with homemade falafel and served with fresh ingredients and the most delicious tahini sauce. A middle-eastern fresh and lovely meal that the whole family will love.

Cook Time5minutes mins

Total Time12hours hrs 35minutes mins

CourseSandwich, Side Dish

Servings8

Ingredients

Falafel Ingredients

• 1 lb fava beans dried, peeled
• 3/4 lbs chickpeas dried
• 1 cup Italian parsley finely minced, drained from excess juice
• 2 cups cilantro leaves finely minced, drained from excess juice
• 1/2 cup green onions finely minced
• 10 cloves garlic
• 1/2 yellow onion
• 2 tablespoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder optional, if spicy falafel is desired
• 1 teaspoon cumin powder
• 3 teaspoons coriander powder
• 3 cups Vegetable Oil for deep frying

Tahini Sauce Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons Tahini Paste
• 1 cup Lemon Juice
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Preparing the Falafel Mix

1. Soak the fava beans and the chickpeas in water in separate containers overnight so that they soften.
2. The following day drain the all beans and rinse with fresh water. Peel the fava beans and discard the skins (or you can save time by buying peeled fava beans).
3. Drain the fava beans in a colander then run them in the food processor for a minute or two until they look like bread crumbs. Set aside in a large bowl.
4. Similarly rinse and drain the chickpeas then run them in the food processor until they reach the same consistency of the Fava beans. Pour in the bowl on top of the fava beans.
5. Place the garlic, onions, green onions, parsley, cilantro, flour and all spices except for the baking soda in the food processor and run for a minute until they turn into a thick paste.
6. Add them to the bowl on top of the beans and knead with hands until they reach a doughy texture. If they feel dry add a bit of water and kneed a bit more. If they feel too pasty add a bit of flour. At this point feel free to taste the Falafel mix to make sure it has a balanced flavor.

Frying the Falafel

1. Right before frying, add and mix the baking soda into the Falfel mix kneading it, then let it rest for a bit. When ready heat up 1-2 inches deep of cooking oil in a frying pan on medium heat.
2. Scoop the falafel by using a special Falafel scoop. If not available use an ice cream scoop, a small 1 Oz measuring cup, or 2 regular tablespoons whereby you would scoop the falafel paste in one, and press the other spoon against it to compact into a "cake" then drop gently into the frying pan.
3. Fry for a few minutes while turning the falafel if needed until it turns light brown and crispy on the outside, then scoop them out into a colander for a couple of minutes to get rid of the excess oil before placing them in a serving bowl.
4. Optional: You can roll the falafel in sesame seeds as soon as they are taken out of the frying pan.

Alternative Method: Bake the Falafel

1. For the health conscious, you can scoop then layer the falafel patties on an aluminum/cooking tray that has been lightly oiled and bake in the oven at 400F for 7-10 minutes or until crispy on the outside.

Falafel Tahini Sauce Preparation

1. Mix the Tahini sauce ingredients in the blender until they reach a homogeneous texture.
2. Sample to ensure a balance of flavors. A good Falafel Tahini sauce should be tangy and garlicky.
3. Serve as a side/dip.

Putting Together a Falafel Sandwich

1. While still hot, crush 3 or 4 cooked falafel balls along the diameter of a pita bread, garnish with some chopped parsley leaves, add a table spoon of Tahini sauce, chopped tomatoes, salted Lebanese cucumber and turnip pickles, and an optional red hot sauce (Shatta) . Roll and enjoy.

How to Make Falafel

• The first thing to do is to soak the chickpeas overnight to rehydrate and make them soft.
• Make sure to cover the chickpeas generously with water, since they will soak it up overnight.
• Drain and dry chickpeas in the morning and place them in a food processor.
• Add the spices, garlic, herbs, baking soda, baking powder and onion.
• Process until you have something that has the consistency a little looser than a cookie dough.
• You want it to be gummy and to stick to itself.
• If too wet, drain the mixture in a fine sieve allowing extra liquid to run off.
• If still too wet, you can add chickpea flour to dry it up a bit, but you need to maintain a good balance.
• Make sure it’s not too dry, otherwise it will crumble when fried.
• This recipe should provide your falafel mixture with just the right amount of moisture.
• Heat vegetable oil to between 350ºF (175ºC) to 375ºF (190ºC).
• Either using a specialized falafel mold or a spoon to shape the mixture, make into small falafel ball shapes.
• As you shape the falafel, drop them into the hot oil, being careful not to let too much time pass between shaping, and dropping in the oil.
• Avoid the temptation to pack them too tightly in the molds, or when shaping into a ball.
• Cook falafel until light golden brown, turning falafel in the oil for an even cooking through.
• Remove and drain on paper towels to remove excess oil.

 Nutrition

Calories: 82kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 125mg | Potassium: 243mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 269IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 33mg | Iron: 2mg