The world’s juiciest baked falafels
The problem with all the baked falafel recipes out there? They are all dry, every one of them. We spent weeks (and hundreds of falafels) comparing various weird ingredients, trying everything conceivable to make THE juiciest falafels.
We actually overdid it in one of the batches, and managed to make falafels that roasted and crispy on the outside, but were basically jelly inside – Weirdly delicious!
This recipe is toned down a bit, to get a light, fluffy moist falafel thats crisp on the outside and juicy inside.
If you want a seriously juicy falafel – add half a cup of cooked oats to the mixture and tone down the other liquid accordingly.
Juicy, low fat baked falafels
I've used Xantham gum and Guar gum here - you can also use methylcellulose instead of guar gum (if you can get it). These are hydrocolloids that are typically used in gluten-free baking, you can get them from most health food shops, and occasionally in big supermarkets with the health food.If you can't get either of these 2, you can leave them out, but then you must double the eggs and add 4 tbsp of oil, and enough wheat (need the gluten) flour to stiffen the batter - the hydrocolloids act as binders and they retain moisture during the baking.I strongly recommend making your own tahini - it's just so much cheaper, tastier, and really easy to do. Recipe here.
Servings 4
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw chickpeas, soaked overnight with 1 tsp bicarb of soda
- 2 tbsp flour (Any type, you can use rye, quinoa, whatever)
- 1 tbsp Xantham gum This you can get from health food shops - people use it in gluten free baking.
- 1 tbsp Guar gum or methylcellulose Same as above.
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 onion
- 1 carrot (optional)
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 eggs (not essential, but helps bind)
- A handful of fresh parsley or coriander
- 1/2 cup Tahini
- 2 tsp Cumin
- 1 big tbsp coriander seeds
- Juice from 1 medium lemon (about 2 tbsp)
- 1/4 cup Yoghurt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200C.
- Soak the chickpeas overnight with one teaspoon of bicarb, then drain and mash. You ideally don't want the chickpeas totally smooth, so mashing with a potato masher or pulsing in a food processor works well.
- Pulse the onions, garlic and carrot (if using) or mince very finely with a knife. Don't blend the onion into a liquid, or they will be bitter. Add to the mashed chickpeas. Add the eggs and lemon juice.
- Chop the coriander, and add to the chickpeas. Grind the spices and add to the mix. Add most of the tahini, keeping a tablespoon or 2 aside for the dressing.
- Dissolve the salt, Xantham, Guar Gum/MC and the baking powder in the dry flour and mix well, then add the mix to the falafels batter. The flour stops the gums from hydrating as they hit the liquid and spreads the particles, don't just throw the gum into the batter. If you are not using hydrocolloids, you can add some cooked oats, an extra egg or 2 and a few tablespoons of oil - these will keep the moisture in, and the egg will help bind the batter.
- You should have a batter that is around the consistency of a stiff fritter batter - you want it to just drop off the spoon, not too stiff (or it'll be dry) and not to wet (or it'll fall apart). If it's too dry, add some yoghurt/egg, and if it's too moist add some more flour/xantham gum. You want your batter to form a ball on a flat surface without flattening.This point of the recipe is a bit vague - you kinda need to feel it out. If you are unsure, make one or 2 as a test run, and adjust according to how those turn out.
- Make balls on a baking tray and optionally spray with oil/cooking spray - this just helps the outside to brown nicely.Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the outside has just set and the inside soft. take out, flip around so the toasted side that was touching the tray is now facing up, and bake for another 5 minutes.
- Mix the remaining tahini with the yoghurt, half a tbsp of lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Serve the falafels hot with a drizzle of tahini dressing and a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds, or with a sauce such as our asian tomato relish
