Paul's Falafel

Recipe Background:

Every Israeli has an opinion about falafel, the ultimate Israeli street food, which is most often served stuffed into pita bread. There, the falafel is freshly fried before your eyes. The recipe below is a version (see author below) which uses the basics of these old recipes with two added ingredients, fresh parsley and cilantro which characterize Arab falafel in Israel.

Paul's Side-Step...

Different from the "gyros" found in the U.S. offered mostly at Greek restaurants, both falafel and shwarma (the rotisseried lamb & beef combo) in Israel are served with hummus or a mixture (hummus bi tahini), some recipe combination usually made with some garlic, lemon juice, salt and olive oil.

Gyros (Greek), shwarma (Arab), souvlaki (lamb chunks), falafel (fried bean balls) could mean the particular sandwich, usually being pita bread or it could simply refer to the entree item itself served on a plate with other accompaniments. (I recently found a falafel joint in Salzburg.)

Anyway, I can't stand the Greek tzatziki sauce, and love the tahini sauce. For years I've occasionally experimented with trying to duplicate the taste I experienced mainly in Haifa. The sauce recipe below will be the latest experiment.

Ingredients for Falafel (recipe is excerpted from "The Foods of Israel Today"by Joan Nathan)

• 1 cup dried chickpeas


• 1/2 large onion, roughly chopped (about 1 cup)


• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley


• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro


• 1 teaspoon salt


• 1/2-1 teaspoon dried hot red pepper


• 4 cloves of garlic


• 1 teaspoon cumin


• 1 teaspoon baking powder


• 4-6 tablespoons flour


• Soybean or vegetable oil for frying


• Chopped tomato for garnish


• Diced onion for garnish


• Diced green bell pepper for garnish


• Tahina sauce


• Pita bread

Ingredients for Paul's Shwarma Sauce

• ¼ c Low fat Buttermilk


• ¼ c Tahini


• 1 tsp lemon or lime juice


• A dash or two of cayenne

Put the chickpeas in a large bowl and add enough cold water to cover them by at least 2 inches. Let soak overnight, then drain. Or use canned chickpeas, drained.

Place the drained, uncooked chickpeas and the onions in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add the parsley, cilantro, salt, hot pepper, garlic, and cumin. Process until blended but not pureed.

Sprinkle in the baking powder and 4 tablespoons of the flour, and pulse. You want to add enough bulgur or flour so that the dough forms a small ball and no longer sticks to your hands. Turn into a bowl and refrigerate, covered, for several hours.

Form the chickpea mixture into balls about the size of walnuts, or use a falafel scoop, available in Middle-Eastern markets.

Heat 3 inches of oil to 375 degrees in a deep pot or wok and fry 1 ball to test. If it falls apart, add a little flour. Then fry about 6 balls at once for a few minutes on each side, or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Stuff half a pita with falafel balls, chopped tomatoes, onion, green pepper, and pickled turnips. Drizzle with tahina thinned with water.

NOTE: Egyptians omit the cilantro and substitute fava beans for the chickpeas.