Homemade Falafel with Tahini Sauce
In a moment of nostalgia a few weekends ago, I found myself digging through my massive bin of culinary school mementos—oil-stained notebooks, tattered chefs’ coats, broken vegetable peelers, a paper toque, and buried within a folder of class notes, a recipe for homemade falafel.
Just a few days prior I’d planned dinner with my friend Kamran at Taim, a legendary falafel spot in New York City. But a bustling crowd and minimal seating prevented us from ever making it inside the shoebox-sized eatery, and instead we settled on crispy chicken chunks and chips at A Salt & Battery down the street. A satisfying alternative, but still not the answer to my falafel craving.
Discovering the recipe among the mountains of note cards and textbooks was the only sign I needed to finally get serious about my falafel fix. I was soon pulsing together cups of chickpeas and fresh herbs, and after a quick sauté, my hand was home to a warmed pita stuffed with four bright green patties dripping with cool and creamy tahini sauce. Check out my step-by-step photos of this surprisingly simple dish, and then weigh in below with your favorite falafel spots across the globe!
Homemade Falafel with Tahini Sauce
Yield: 6-8 servings
Prep Time: 90 min (includes chilling time)
Cook Time: 6 min
Ingredients:
For the falafel:
2 cups roughly chopped white onion
6 garlic cloves
2 cups cooked chickpeas, drained
1 cup lightly packed parsley leaves
1 cup lightly packed cilantro leaves
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ cup all-purpose flour
Canola oil, for sauteing
Pita bread, for servingFor the tahini sauce:
1¼ cups plain yogurt (full fat or non-fat)
¼ cup tahini (sesame paste)
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juiceDirections:
Add the onion and garlic cloves to the bowl of a food processor and pulse just until they are finely minced. Remove the mixture and set it aside.
Add the chickpeas, parsley, cilantro, salt, chili powder, and cumin to the bowl of the food processor and pulse until they are roughly blended but not pureed.
Return the onion mixture to the food processor, along with the baking powder and just enough flour so that when you pulse the processor, the mixture begins to form a small ball and is not sticky. (Note: Start by adding ¼ cup of flour, and then the remaining ¼ cup. You can add more if the mixture is still too wet.)
Transfer the falafel mixture to a bowl, cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for 1 hour.
While the falafel mixture is chilling, prepare the tahini sauce by whisking together the yogurt, tahini and lemon juice. Season it with salt and pepper, cover it and place it in the fridge.
Once the falafel mixture has chilled, use a small ice cream scoop or spoons to form the mixture into balls (roughly 3 Tablespoons per ball). (Note: You can also add additional flour at this point, if the mixture is too wet to scoop.)
Set a large sauté pan over medium heat and add a liberal amount of canola oil so that the pan is well-coated. Let the pan pre-heat for 3 minutes then add the falafel one by one, browning them on the first side for 3 minutes, then flipping them once and browning the second side until the mixture is cooked throughout.
Transfer the falafel to a paper towel-lined cooling wrack and immediately season them with salt. Repeat this process until you have cooked all of the falafel.
Place three or four falafel inside a halved, warmed pita and drizzle with the prepared tahini sauce.
Recipe inspired by a lesson in Module 2 of the Culinary Arts Program at The Institute of Culinary Education.
pam — August 17, 2011 @ 1:31 pm
I love these for lunch!
Kelly replied: — August 17th, 2011 @ 1:35 pm
Agreed, Pam! I have the Moshe’s Falafel truck outside my office every day and I absolutely love the wafting aroma of hot falafel.
Bev Weidner — August 17, 2011 @ 3:38 pm
Holy crap! I’ve been waiting and waiting for a falafel recipe to make its way across the food blogosphere and HERE YOU ARE.
I just got giddy.
Kelly replied: — August 17th, 2011 @ 3:40 pm
Welcome, Bev! This recipe definitely satisfied my falafel craving and hope it’ll do the same for you! It’s hard to beat a hot, flavor-packed falafel patty dripping with cool tahini
Hayley Mann — August 17, 2011 @ 6:01 pm
YUM!!! I am a mega falafel lover, yet I’ve never attempted to make them myself. Now I’m totally going to give these a try. XO
Kelly replied: — August 17th, 2011 @ 6:23 pm
Hay-hay! I was just showing your blog to a friend at work – we are obsessed! I’m loving that camera bag…
Julia — August 17, 2011 @ 6:14 pm
Your Falafel looks just amazing!
Kelly replied: — August 17th, 2011 @ 6:25 pm
Thanks so much, Julia. And I have to tell you that I am obsessed with your blog title – love it!
Emma @ Poires au Chocolat — August 17, 2011 @ 7:57 pm
I’ve always wondered if it would be simple to make falafel – this recipe looks awesome! I really like falafel and I’ve just started making my own pita so this would be a great thing to try. Thanks
Kelly replied: — August 17th, 2011 @ 7:59 pm
It is a surprisingly simple technique! The key is to be ale to balance just enough flour int e mixture so that the patties stay together but aren’t dry. Homemade pita sounds like it might be my next recipe!
Alison @ Ingredients, Inc. — August 17, 2011 @ 8:55 pm
These look delish! Great talking to you today!
Kelly replied: — August 17th, 2011 @ 9:07 pm
Thanks so much, Alison! It was such a pleasure talking to you today and I’m so excited to be on the same panel for Food Blog Forum!
kamran siddiqi — August 17, 2011 @ 11:30 pm
I thought that eating lunch and dinner would prevent me from craving falafel, but that’s all this post does. I wonder if Taim would accept bribes in exchange for reserving a couple seats at their very small place…
The falafel look to die for, and the step-by-step photos are just gorgeous. Wonderful post, Kelly!
Kelly replied: — August 18th, 2011 @ 12:23 am
You are too kind, Kamran! Well, we STILL need to get that falafel one day…
Just a Taste » Homemade Falafel with Tahini Sauce | Do It Yourself — August 18, 2011 @ 6:05 am
[...] here: Just a Taste » Homemade Falafel with Tahini Sauce This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged chopped-white, falafel, garlic-cloves, [...]
AnnTee — August 18, 2011 @ 6:31 am
hello kelly!
I just thought you might want to try this- instead of flour, add 1- 2 tbsp of semolina… this helps to hold the mixture together, while at the same time giving the falafel a hearty taste!
Kelly replied: — August 18th, 2011 @ 12:33 pm
Thank you so much for the suggestion! Will definitely try the semolina substitute next time!
Marisol — August 19, 2011 @ 4:25 am
Kelly! I love your pictures
I’m working on my blog now, any suggestions? I have to say that you inspired me to do that.
Falafel look great! you don’t know how hard it is to find it in Mexico
Kelly replied: — August 19th, 2011 @ 1:41 pm
So great to hear from you, Sol! And I am thrilled to hear that Just a Taste inspired you to start a food blog – I can’t wait to check it out! Missing you and our days at ICE…
Nadia — August 21, 2011 @ 4:50 pm
hi, i tried these today and they turned out awesome, thanks alot
Kelly replied: — August 21st, 2011 @ 4:58 pm
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe, Nadia! And thank you so much for your feedback. Hopefully you have some leftovers for the week!
My Favourite Day Is Sunday — August 22, 2011 @ 8:47 am
Hi,
I love your blog!
You are one of my favourite bloggers of the week on http://www.funkysunday.com
Come and visit!
My Favourite Day Is Sunday
Kelly replied: — August 22nd, 2011 @ 10:53 am
Thanks so much for including Just a Taste in your list of favorites!
JulieD — August 24, 2011 @ 9:50 pm
Oh my amazing! Pinning this for later, Kelly. I love Kamran btw.
Kelly replied: — August 25th, 2011 @ 2:16 am
Hi Julie! So great to hear from you and I can’t wait to catch up in TN!
alison — September 9, 2011 @ 10:51 pm
I’ve been looking for a good falafel recipe. This looks wonderful, and so easy. Glad to have found your blog!
Kelly replied: — September 9th, 2011 @ 11:02 pm
Thanks for stopping by, Alison! I was just as happy to find your blog this morning!
logan — October 17, 2011 @ 7:30 pm
hey there! i have made these twice and both times i had to put in over a cup of flour before the batter made it into a ball. I have a super fancy high-powered food processor…could this be the issue? it seems like they are getting too pureed and come out denser than i think they should. they taste amazing, though.
do you think it would work if i mixed the flour in by hand? what’s the disadvantage of having a sticky batter?
thanks in advance!
logan
Kelly replied: — October 17th, 2011 @ 7:42 pm
Hi, Logan! Thanks so much for stopping by. I’d love to help troubleshoot any issues you’re having. Did you definitely drain the beans? The other consideration is to make sure you aren’t pureeing the mixture too much. The more you puree it, the thinner it will become. You want a just rough enough chop so that the ingredients bind together with the addition of the flour. Make sure during the various stages of using your food processor that you aren’t overdoing it. Hope this helps!
logan — October 17, 2011 @ 7:33 pm
ooh! one more thing. all the other recipes i have found calls for just soaked beans, not cooked or canned. have you tried this? any thoughts?
Kelly replied: — October 17th, 2011 @ 7:43 pm
I have used soaked beans before, but I prefer the texture from the cooked beans and found they cook up more evenly in patty-form. Hope my note below helps!
logan — October 17, 2011 @ 7:57 pm
yep, i tried it with both canned and dried beans with the same outcome. maybe i will try adding the flour earlier in the process so it isnt as pureed when i add it.
thanks for the info!
Just a Taste » Roasted Garlic Hummus — December 28, 2011 @ 3:13 pm
[...] up from Ravagh in midtown Manhattan. This hummus recipe has also become my go-to accompaniment for Homemade Falafel. The quick, easy and super creamy dip was a total success, which is way more than I can say for the [...]
Just a Taste » Top 10 Recipes of 2011 — December 31, 2011 @ 2:12 pm
[...] 8. Homemade Falafel with Tahini Sauce [...]
Ralf K. — January 27, 2012 @ 8:33 pm
I do not want to be offensive but this dish is a Palestinian dish.
Chelsea J. — February 15, 2012 @ 2:30 am
Made them for my happy single awareness day meal. lovelove
Kelly replied: — February 15th, 2012 @ 2:31 am
Thank you for the big smile! I am a big fan of Happy Single Awareness Day, and I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe
#Pinning « Emily & Emily & A Bottle of Wine — March 1, 2012 @ 1:23 pm
[...] justataste.com via Amber on [...]
Kathleen — March 25, 2012 @ 5:35 pm
Made these for date night with my husband…they are fabulous!! If your ever in Vermont go try the falafel at Ali Baba’s Kabob Shop on Main St. In Burlingon.
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[...] to make falafels & tahini sauce or the address of a food stand, food truck or quick lunch [...]
Timber says, “Have you ever heard of a meatless meatball?” | Taste Tested by Timber — October 19, 2012 @ 11:44 am
[...] recipe was adapted from Kelly Senyei at Just a Taste blog. The recipe is here: http://www.justataste.com/2011/08/homemade-falafel-with-tahini-sauce/ Go on, tell all your friends:Like this:LikeBe the first to like this. Posted in Food, Pets | [...]
Ashley D. — November 15, 2012 @ 11:16 am
Tried this already once and loved it, had a little trouble with the patties getting stuck to the pan, but I will be attempting it again today!
Love how simple you make everything look!
jocelyn — December 2, 2012 @ 2:18 am
I agree w pam and kelly. I absolutely crave the falafel at moshe’s falafel truck.
Just a Taste » Super Bowl Snacks — January 25, 2013 @ 7:48 am
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:: Good Girl Gone Green » Raw tzatziki sauce :: — February 4, 2013 @ 8:50 pm
[...] not found the time or patience. Recently, I stumbled upon what I thought was the perfect looking falafel recipe. Now, that I had the falafels, I needed tzatziki sauce to go with it. Conventional tzatziki sauce [...]
Peony Lim — February 20, 2013 @ 4:27 pm
[...] fried. This recipe is based on one I found on FoodGawker from a blog called Just a Taste… HERE! I adapted it, inspired by the wonderful and yet unbeaten Falafel King, based on Portobello Road [...]
Aggie — May 7, 2013 @ 6:42 am
I constantly crave falafel like it’s nobody’s business! So happy to find this baked version from you that looks absolutely delicious!!
Angela — May 19, 2013 @ 8:54 am
This was my first time making falafel and it was WONDERFUL! I am currently overseas, so I didn’t even have a food processor, the Tahini or cilantro but it was still so yummy. Plus it makes a lot so my lunches this week are gonna rock! I’ve just been wrapping these little gems in tortillas with some cucumber slices. Tastes so fresh. Thank you so much for this recipe!