Falafel with Hummus & Tahini Sauce

Falafel is a Middle-Eastern and Mediterranean crisp deep-fried fritter made using Chickpeas and fresh herbs. It is quite a popular street-food especially in countries like Egypt, Lebanon and Turkey. Falafel is a versatile patty which can be served in a Mezze Platter, in a Falafel Sandwich with Pita Bread, or just by itself along with a dip.

Hummus is a creamy and smooth dip made using cooked Chickpeas, Tahini Paste, Garlic and Olive Oil. It is a quintessential part of the Mezze Platter and pairs well with Falafel. Tahini Sauce is one of the most popular sauces in Middle East and the base of this sauce is Tahini Paste which is a paste made from roasted white sesame seeds and oil. Tahini Sauce is a must in a Falafel Sandwich as it makes the sandwich moist and flavourful.

This post is a 3 in 1 recipe and trust me you will be super delighted by the taste of each one of them. This Falafel is super crunchy from outside and soft from inside. It is full of herby flavours – parsley, coriander and mint and subtle hint of spices like coriander, cumin and paprika. When paired with the velvety smooth Hummus and nutty flavoured Tahini Sauce, it tastes divine.

Falafel has gained it’s popularity as a Vegetarian or Vegan food across the globe. It is gluten free as well when just consumed without the Pita bread. Since it is made from chickpeas which is rich in protein, it is a healthy snack as compared to other alternatives although it is deep-fried.

Coming to the recipe, Falafel is made by soaking dried chickpeas overnight, and then grinding it into a coarse paste with some fresh herbs like parsley, coriander and mint along with onion, garlic and some dry spices like coriander powder, cumin and paprika or chilli powder. The batter is refrigerated to firm up a bit, and then shaped into balls or patties and deep fried till it is golden brown. Though Falafel can be baked, it tastes best when it is deep fried.

Falafel could get dry from inside at times if the mixture is too dry, so try to keep it a bit moist, but at the same time the batter should not be too loose, else it would be difficult to shape it. If the batter becomes lose, you could add a small amount of gram flour or besan to adjust the consistency. Adding a small amount of baking powder before frying them makes it light and airy. Also make sure that the batter is not ground too fine, as keeping it coarse will give it a good crunchy texture.

Talking about the dips, Tahini sauce in Middle-East is as significant as how important Ketchup is for Americans. This sauce is used as an accompaniment in many snacks and Mezze platter served in this region. Tahini Paste is the base for this sauce. Tahini paste is normally store bought but can be easily made at home.

To make Tahini paste at home, simply slow roast White Sesame seeds till they just change colour and then grind to a fine paste with oil and salt. Tahini Sauce is a diluted version of the Tahini Paste, along with some additional ingredients for flavour like garlic and lemon juice, garnished with parsley or coriander leaves.

Hummus which is another important dip in the Mezze platter is also quite a simple dish to make. Boiled chickpeas are to be ground to a smooth paste along with garlic, Tahini paste, olive oil, cumin powder. It is drizzled with some more olive oil and garnished with Paprika powder and parsley or coriander leaves. One tip to get a smooth hummus is to remove the outer skin of the chickpeas after boiling.

Serving Suggestion

Falafel can be served in a number of ways – just as a snack, or as part of a Mezze platter or a filling meal as a Falafel sandwich made with Pita bread pockets. Falafel tastes best when it is served hot.

A Mezze platter is a Middle-Eastern style starter board comprising of multiple dips, pita bread, fresh veggies like cucumber, tomatoes, grilled eggplant and cheese like Feta cheese. The guests can make their own snack platter from this as per their choice.

Another popular way of serving Falafel is making it as a sandwich. To make Falafel sandwich, cut open a pita bread and fill the pita pocket with lettuce, tomato, onions, cucumber, couple of Falafel, crumbled Feta cheese, and top it with some hummus and Tahini sauce.

Falafel with Hummus & Tahini Sauce

Kannan

Falafel is a Middle Eastern crispy, deep fried snack made using Chickpeas, herbs and spices. It is a popular street food served with dips like Hummus and Tahini Sauce.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 8 hours hrs

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Resting Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 9 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Course Snack

Cuisine Mediterranean, Middle Eastern

Servings 6 people

Ingredients

  

For Falafel

• 1½ cups Dry Chickpeas
• 1 cup Fresh Coriander Leaves
• 1 cup Fresh Parsley Leaves
• ½ cup Fresh Mint
• 1 tbsp Roasted Cumin or Jeera Powder
• 1 tbsp Coriander or Dhaniya Powder
• 1 tbsp Paprika or Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder
• 1 Onion roughly chopped
• 7-8 cloves Garlic
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• Salt to taste
• Oil for deep frying

For Tahini Paste

• 100 grams White Sesame Seeds preferably Nylon Sesame variety
• 2 tbsp Olive Oil
• Salte to taste

For Tahini Sauce

• ⅓ cup Tahini Paste
• 3 cloves Garlic
• Juice of 1 Lime
• ½ cup Water approx
• Fresh Parsley for garnishing

For Hummus

• ½ cup Dry Chickpeas
• 2 tbsp Tahini Paste
• 5 cloves Garlic
• Juice of 1 Lime
• 1 tbsp Roasted Cumin or Jeera Powder
• 2 tbsp Olive Oil + some more for drizzling on top
• 1 tsp Paprika or Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder for garnishing
• Salt to taste

For Falafel Sandwich

• 12 Pita Bread Halves
• Lettuce
• Sliced Tomatoes
• Diced Onions
• Chopped Cucumber
• Purple Cabbage
• Feta Cheese
• Hummus
• Tahini Sauce

Instructions

 

For making Falafel

• Soak 1.5 cups of chickpeas overnight. Drain the water completely.
  
• To a mixer jar, add the drained chickpeas, fresh coriander leaves, parsley and mint. If you do not have parsley, substitute with more coriander leaves.
  
• Add all the remaining ingredients except baking powder (onion, garlic, cumin powder, coriander powder, red chilli powder or Paprika, salt to taste)
  
• Pulse grind to a coarse paste. Do not add water while grinding and also do not grind it too fine. Coarse batter will yield crispy falafel.
  
• Refrigerate this batter for at least 1 hour as it will help firm up and easy to shape them.
  
• Just before frying the falafel, add 1 teaspoon of baking powder to make the Falafel light. Mix well.
  
• Shape the falafel in balls by rolling them between your palm.
  
• Prepare all the remaining falafel.
  
• Heat oil in a kadai. Once the oil is medium hot, drop the falafel into oil carefully.
  
• Make sure to keep the flame medium while frying the falafel. Turn and toss them intermittently.
  
• Drain them from oil once they are deep golden brown in colour. Make note to take bit earlier than the desired colour, as falafel continue to change colour even after taking it out of the oil. Continue frying the remaining Falafel.
  

For making the Tahini Paste

• Dry roast 100 grams of white sesame seeds in a pan on a low flame. It should just change colour and not turn brown. Cool the sesame seeds completely before grinding.
  
• Add the sesame seeds to a mixer jar and grind. Initially it would look powdery, but when you continue grinding, the natural oil in sesame seeds will turn it into a coarse paste.
  
• Now add salt and around 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Grind further to turn into a smooth paste.
  
• Transfer to a bowl. Tahini paste is ready and can be stored in refrigerator for 3 to 4 weeks easily.
  

For making Hummus

• Soak 0.5 cup of dry chickpeas overnight. Drain the water. Pressure cook the chickpeas with some salt and fresh water for around 8 to 9 whistles or till the chickpeas are soft.
  
• Remove the skin from the chickpea by rubbing it. This will make the Hummus smooth and creamy.
  
• Cool the chickpeas and then transfer to a mixer jar. Add some salt, garlic, cumin powder and 1 tablespoon olive oil, juice of 1 lime, 2 tablespoons of Tahini paste and grind.
  
• Add some of the reserved stock used to cook chickpeas and grind further to a smooth thick paste.
  
• Transfer the hummus to a shallow bowl and using the back of a spoon, create some swirls in it.
  
• Drizzle some olive oil on top of it. Sprinkle some paprika powder or kashmiri red chilli powder, and fresh chopped parsley or coriander. Hummus is ready.
  

For making Tahini Sauce

• Grind 3 cloves of garlic with some salt. Next add the Tahini paste, juice of 1 lime and some water.
  
• Once sauce type consistency is reached, transfer to a bowl and add fresh parsley or coriander to garnish. Tahini sauce is ready.
  

For assembling Falafel Sandwich

• Cut open Pita bread and in the pita pocket, add lettuce, onions, tomatoes, cucumber , 1 tablespoon of Hummus and crumble some feta cheese. Add couple of hot Falafel. Top with some Tahini sauce.
  

Video

Notes

• Make sure to drain the water from soaked chickpeas completely before grinding it. Also do not add any water while grinding it. 
• Just pulse grind the chickpeas and make a coarse paste. Do not grind to a smooth paste. Coarse batter yields crispy falafel.
• If the batter is loose, add 1 or 2 tablespoons of besan or gram flour to adjust the consistency. Also refrigerating the batter for at least one hour helps to firm up the batter.
• Make sure to fry falafel in medium flame, so that it is cooked thoroughly from inside and also get a uniform colour.
• Falafel tastes best when served hot.
• While making the Tahini paste, be careful while roasting the sesame seeds. It is to be roasted on low flame till it just starts to change colour.
• Removing the skin from cooked chickpeas yields a smooth Hummus.

Keyword Crispy Falafel, Falafel, Falafel Recipe, Falafel Sandwich, Hummus, Mediterranean, Mezze Platter, Middle Eastern, Protein-Rich, Smooth Hummus, Snacks, Tahini Paste, Tahini Sauce