Falafel (Chickpea and Burghul Patties)
Servings Prep. Time Cooking Time Calories % from Fat Fat Sodium Carbohydrates Protein Cholesterol
30 each N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A


INGREDIENTS:
225g/8 oz dried chickpeas 700ml/1-1/4 pints cold water 85 g/3 oz burghul (steamed cracked wheat)
2 cloves garlic, chopped 4 spring onions, roughly chopped 3 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 teaspoon ground coriander 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon lemon juice 1-1/2 teaspoons salt freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda oil, for deep frying



1 Pick over the chickpeas and remove any that are damaged. Place in a large bowl and add cold water. Soak in a refrigerator for 24 hours.
2 Place the burghul in a sieve and rinse under cold water. Transfer it to a bowl, cover and let it stand for 20 minutes to swell and soften.
3 Drain the chickpeas and place them in a food processor with the burghul and the remaining ingredients. Process until ground to a coarse paste-like consistency. (Alternatively, mix the ingredients and pass through a meat grinder twice, using a fine screen; then transfer to a bowl and knead to a paste). Cover and let stand for 30 minutes.
4 With moistened hands, shape tablespoons of the mixture into thick patties about 4 cm/1-1/2 in a diameter. Heat the oil for deep frying to 190 C/375 F-at this temperature a cube of bread should turn golden in 1 minute. Deep fry six or seven falafel at a time for about 5 minutes, until they brown evenly. Drain on kitchen paper. To check if the falafel are cooked, cut one in half-the colour should be even through to the middle; if not, increase the cooking time by 1 minute.
5 Serve hot as an appetiser with tarator bi tahini, or serve in warm pita bread with tarator bi tahini and salad vegetables or tabbouleh.

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