62 Reviews of Falafel

From: Linorama

On Jun 27, 2006

This recipe has become an obsession in our house - we can't get enough of it! We don't care if it's authentic or not, it's just fun, delicious food. I make the patties really small, using a small cookie scoop (1T.) for each, then flatten slightly into discs. Sometimes they fall apart a little while cooking and other times they hold up well - I'm not sure what the difference is (probably operator error) but I don't really care. We smush the falafel into our pitas anyway, so it doesn't matter in the end. I make tahini sauce instead of the cucumber sauce to keep it dairy free, then load on the toppings. This is fabulous, and the single most requested meal in our house. ** Updating to add that I've begun baking the falafel - it cuts the fat a bit and is handier than standing by the stove. I spray a little oil on a baking stone, lay on the falafel, and spray the tops of them. Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes (no need to turn) and they're ready to go. Yum!

From: eatrealfood

On Mar 21, 2005

scrumptious patties that are a cinch to make: i just threw everything in my blender with no regard for the order and gave it a whirl - after that it was easy enough to mash down the stray whole chickpeas with the back of a spoon. if you find it falling apart and tough to handle, just add a tablespoon or so of flour and they hold together extremely well as mine did. if this makes it too dry then add a dash of water/lemon juice to compensate. i did this and it worked fine for me. i snuggled the patties in warm homemade pita pockets, stuffed it with lettuce, cucumber and tomatoes and it made a very gratifying lunch for us.

From: basya

On May 3, 2006

I used a small onion instead of scallions, 1 tsp of dried mint instead of fresh, and hot paprika instead of tabasco sauce. My first two balls totally dissolved when trying to fry them, so I added an egg to the mix and stirred well. Whalla, the balls finally stuck together for me. I didn't make the sauce, since we eat falafel with tahini, amba (mango chutney), hot pepper sauce, and lots of veges and fries. Everyone raved about them, and even my picky eater ate the whole pita stuffed with goodies. Re-reading the instructions I realize that I deep fried my falafel balls, and if I do the shallow fry I can probably get away without the egg. Thanks for the tasty (and successful) recipe.

From: Chef #767884

On Feb 17, 2008

I really enjoyed this recipe...I didn't have enough cilantro, but I added some basil and cumin seeds instead of ground cumin. I had to use flour to keep it from falling apart when frying. They taste great, though!

From: hannahactually

On Jun 18, 2008

I am strictly reviewing the falafel; I didn't make the sauce. I wanted to make this a bit healthier, so I followed the directions exactly but baked the patties instead of frying them (I know there are recipes on the 'Zaar and elsewhere for baked falafel, but for some reason I felt attached to your recipe ). I was sure I'd have to sacrifice some of the flavor (and I probably did--fried everything tends to taste better, LOL), but even baked these were PHENOMENAL. The flavor was amazing. So, so good! I do think that the texture might be better if I had fried these (crispier on the outside), but I am so very satisfied with these the way I made them! So much flavor for something so simple! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe; I know I'll make it again.

From: luvmybge

On Nov 6, 2004

Delicious! I served them last night. I love the flavors. I got about 8 little disks out of this which fit better in our warmed pita bread. We topped them with all the suggested ingredients and added freshly chopped jalapeños, too. The sauce I made with sour cream Wow... was it GOOD!! Next time I'll try the yogurt to cut out some of the fat. I think I'll make that sauce to top baked potatoes. It was wonderful. By cutting out the fat by using the yogurt I might be able to splurge a bit and bread and deep fry these next time. Thanks for the recipe.

From: skaj71

On Jan 10, 2008

I love this recipe! Thanks so much for sharing! I throw everything into a food processor.. I also bake it before frying because the falafel began to dissolve into the oil without baking first. I've also found that I didn't have to fry the falafel. Baking was sufficient.

From: Vega Girl

On Mar 4, 2007

These were absolutely wonderful. I will say that you have to add more liquid while in the food processor. Instead of using water we used the juice from the can of chickpeas and just slowly added it until it had the consistency of cooked oatmeal. I used the frozen/fresh cilantro instead (all I had) and it worked out fine. But- the flavor on these were amazing. Great recipe thanks!

From: ladimo

On Feb 5, 2007

This was excellent. I left out the cilantro (hate it) and mint (didn't have any) and just increased the scallions. After pulsing in the food processor the mixture was dry and crumbly and from prior experience with crabcakes I knew it would fall apart when frying, so I added a tablespoon of water and that was perfect. I got four perfect patties that held together without problem during frying. I will definitely be making this one again.

From: HollyJane

On Jan 8, 2005

I had a craving for falafel, so I pulled up this recipe, and it was great! The patties did fall apart a bit as I was frying them, and they were a little softer than I expected, but the taste was fabulous, so that made up for it! I omitted the mint because I didn't have any; they are great without it. I also served them with tahini sauce. Delicious. NurseDi recipes never fail for me!