Easy Middle Eastern Recipes
Today we kick off a new chapter in our culinary journey, traveling all the way from Thailand to the Middle East. And of course, I had to start with Falafel, crunchy vegan chickpeas balls.
Falafel are vegan crunchy chickpeas balls, made with raw chickpeas and packed with spices. Serve them with my Yogurt Tahini Lemon Dip and you will have traditional Arabian street food as a healthy and delicious snack or appetizer! Use the air fryer to make the Falafel lighter and even healthier!
The recipe comes from my dear friend Shadia, a Peruvian with roots in Palestine. She also taught me how to make the best ever Hummus. She is an incredibly talented and creative cook. She is behind most of the recipes I will share from The Middle East – thank you my dear!
Airfryer Falafel
Easy Falafel Recipe
-
Prep time: 30 minutes -
Cook time: 15 minutes -
Total time: 45 minutes
Ingredients
| Falafel | |
|---|---|
| 150 g | chickpeas, dried from Reishunger * |
| 100 g | parsley |
| 3 | garlic cloves |
| 3 | tbsp sesame seeds |
| 1 | small onion |
| 1 | tbsp Paprika |
| 2 | tsp cumin powder |
| 1 | small red chilli |
| 1 | tsp coriander powder |
| 1 | pinch baking powder |
| 1 | pinch baking soda |
| 1 | tbsp salt |
| Lemon Jogurt Tahini Dip | |
| 2 | tbsp Skyr |
| 2 | tbsp greek yogurt |
| 2 | tbsp Tahini |
| 1 | tsp leomon juice |
| 1 | tsp sesame seeds |
| 1 | pinch Paprika |
| Salt to taste | |
Utensils
- MIxer
Steps of preparation
- The night before place the dried chickpeas in a big bowl and cover with at least double the water and let them rest.
- Discharge the water and mince them in a good mixer in batches. Set aside.
- Now use the mixer to mince also the chopped garlic, onion and parsley leaves (no stems).
- Mix everything together and add the paprika, cumin, Chili, salt and coriander. Let it rest at least 1 hour in the fridge.
- Before forming small balls with your (wet) hands, add the sesame seeds, baking powder and baking soda and amalgamate well.
- Bake in batches in hot oil or spray with a bit of olive oil and bake in air fryer at 200C for 15 minutes.
- In the meantime prepare the dip by mixing skyr, yogurt, tahini, lemon juice and salt in a nice bowl. Decorate with a bit of paprika and sesame seeds.
- Enjoy warm and fresh!
Notes
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How to eat Falafel
Falafel are great as they are, but also in a warm Pita Bread with Labneh, Hummus, Tomatoes, and cucumbers.
Those crunchy balls are best eaten freshly baked! Leftovers make a fantastic salad: take some greens, tomatoes, cucumber falafel and add yogurt tahini dressing for a middle eastern-inspired delight!
I baked my chickpeas balls in the air fryer. I sprayed a little bit of oil on them before turning it on. Otherwise, simply fry in oil or bake in the oven.
More recipes
Shadia showed me once how to prepare a fantastic meze platter. We had Labneh (a yogurt dip), Fatayer (spinach and feta filled bread pockets), Hummus and Kibbeh (meat and bulgur balls).
I want to share with you some of those recipes so that you are also able to make your very own middle eastern mezze at home! Make sure you don’t miss a recipe, subscribe to my newsletter and you will get them for free in per E-mail!
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*affiliate link: this post contains affiliate links, meaning I recommend products I’ve used and may receive a commission if you purchase them too (at no additional cost to you).
Laura I am so happy you are cooking at home and sharing with your community these amazing recipes !!
Cheers!!!
You have been a great teacher! I am very thankful, that I can share your knowledge and amazing dishes on this platform!
Take good care of you Shadia!
Sending you hugs from Austria,
Laura