The single most important thing about falafel, and the reason most homemade attempts fail, is that you cannot use canned chickpeas.
Dried chickpeas, soaked in water for twelve to twenty four hours, then blended raw. Never cooked. That is the recipe and there is no shortcut around it.
Canned chickpeas are already cooked, which means their starches have gelatinised and they blend into a wet paste. That paste will not hold a ball, and whatever survives shaping will collapse in the air fryer. Soaked raw chickpeas stay firm and starchy and bind themselves together.
Twelve hours minimum
Cover two cups of dried chickpeas with plenty of water and leave them overnight. They roughly double in size, so use a bigger bowl than you think you need and more water than seems necessary.
Twelve hours is the floor and twenty four is fine. Under-soaked chickpeas stay hard in the centre and blend into something gritty that never softens in the air fryer.
Drain them thoroughly before blending. Excess water makes a loose mixture that will not shape.
Blend the chickpeas alone first
Soaked chickpeas into the food processor by themselves, blended until mostly smooth with a few chunks remaining.
A few chunks is the target rather than a compromise. Completely smooth falafel has a dense pasty texture. Some texture left in gives the finished balls a coarser, more interesting bite, which is what good falafel has.
Move them to a large bowl before doing anything else.
The green mixture goes in second
Parsley, cilantro, onion, garlic, all the spices and the olive oil go into the same processor and get blended smooth.
Blending them separately is what gives falafel its colour. A cup each of parsley and cilantro, blitzed into a paste, turns everything green from the inside. Chopped and stirred through instead, you would get flecks rather than colour.
Stems included for both herbs. They carry as much flavour as the leaves and there is no reason to discard them when the whole lot is being pulverised anyway.
Eight cloves of garlic sounds like a lot. It is correct.
Mix by hand, not in the machine
The green mixture goes into the bowl with the chickpeas and gets combined by hand.
Returning everything to the processor would overwork the chickpeas and take you past the texture you carefully preserved. Hands give you control and it takes about a minute.
The baking powder is doing something specific
One teaspoon, and it is what keeps falafel from being dense.
It releases carbon dioxide as the balls heat, creating small pockets through the interior. That is the difference between a light falafel with a slightly airy centre and a heavy one that sits like a rock. Leave it out and you will notice.
Wet hands for shaping
Golf ball sized portions, rolled with wet hands.
This mixture is sticky and it will bond to dry palms and tear apart as you try to release it. Keep a bowl of water next to you and re-wet your hands every few balls. It takes seconds and makes the whole process easy rather than frustrating.
Do not compress them hard. Firm enough to hold together is all you need. Over-compacted falafel bakes dense.
Single layer in the basket
Spray the basket with oil and arrange the balls in a single layer without touching, working in batches.
Air fryers work by moving hot air around food. Crowding the basket blocks that circulation and the falafel steam against each other instead of crisping. Two batches of properly spaced falafel beat one crowded batch every time.
370F for fifteen minutes, until crispy and golden brown.
What to expect
Air fried falafel is not deep fried falafel and it is worth being clear about that. Deep frying gives a harder, more evenly browned crust because the whole surface is in contact with hot oil.
What you get here is crisp on the outside, tender through the middle, and considerably less oil. Naturally gluten free and vegan, which the deep fried version also is, but easier to justify on a weeknight.
Serving
Five falafel balls is a serving, at around 465 calories. Pitta, tahini sauce, chopped salad, pickled turnips if you have them.
Worth noting the sodium sits near 1,600mg per serving, which comes from two and a half teaspoons of salt across the batch. Reduce it to two teaspoons if that matters to you.
Freezing them
Shape the balls and freeze them raw on a tray, then bag them once solid. Air fry straight from frozen and add three to four minutes. This is the most useful thing you can do with a batch, since the soaking is the slow part and doing it once for two meals makes sense.
Adjusting the heat
A quarter teaspoon of cayenne gives a subtle background warmth rather than actual heat. Leave it out entirely if you prefer, or double it. The half teaspoon of sugar is also optional and mainly rounds off the herbs.
Air Fryer Falafel
Description
Crispy air fryer falafel made from soaked dried chickpeas, fresh herbs and warm spices.
Ingredients:
Instructions
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The day before, soak the dried chickpeas in plenty of water for at least 12 hours, then drain thoroughly.
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In a blender or food processor add the soaked chickpeas and blend until mostly smooth, leaving a few chunks throughout. Transfer to a large mixing bowl.
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To the same blender add the parsley cilantro onion garlic cumin coriander salt baking powder black pepper dill sugar cayenne and olive oil. Blend until smooth.
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Add the green mixture to the chickpeas in the bowl and mix by hand until well combined.
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Spray the air fryer basket with oil. Using wet hands, shape golf ball sized portions into rounds and place in a single layer in the basket without touching, working in batches.
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Air fry at 370F for 15 minutes, until crispy and golden brown. Repeat with any remaining batter..
Nutrition Facts
Servings 4
- Amount Per Serving
- Calories 465kcal
- % Daily Value *
- Total Fat 14g22%
- Saturated Fat 2g10%
- Sodium 1599mg67%
- Potassium 1096mg32%
- Total Carbohydrate 69g23%
- Dietary Fiber 19g76%
- Sugars 13g
- Protein 21g42%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily value may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Note
Dried chickpeas soaked 12 to 24 hours are essential. Canned chickpeas are already cooked and blend into a paste that will not hold together. Blend the chickpeas alone first and leave a few chunks for texture. Mix the green paste in by hand rather than returning everything to the processor. Use wet hands for shaping. Arrange in a single layer in the basket and work in batches; crowding stops the falafel crisping.
