{"id":3499,"date":"2019-05-19T13:26:13","date_gmt":"2019-05-19T13:26:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/simpletasty.recipes\/?p=3499"},"modified":"2019-12-03T15:22:05","modified_gmt":"2019-12-03T15:22:05","slug":"14-delicious-homemade-recipes-for-falafel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/simpletasty.recipes\/14-delicious-homemade-recipes-for-falafel\/","title":{"rendered":"14 Delicious Homemade Recipes for Falafel"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Falafels are a traditional recipe that originally comes from the Middle East \u2013 and, of course, remains as popular in Middle Eastern areas today as it has for thousands of years: But the falafel has been gaining increasing acclaim as a health food, with more and more people adding it to their diet as a great way to fill up a meal as a great side, as the entire meal itself and as a way to boost their body\u2019s nutritional intake with one simple meal.
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While the basic traditional falafel recipe remains the same, there are a hundred things you can do. For now, let\u2019s just start with a great few.
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Here are 14 delicious homemade recipes for falafel that you should be trying at home, from the ones that could feed an army to the ones that are ideal just for a quick snack.
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1. Basic Traditional Falafels<\/strong>
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The basic traditional falafel is a pretty easy thing to make, and you don\u2019t have to think of it as an exotic and complicated recipe if you\u2019ve never done it before; it requires just a few basic ingredients to make the falafel in its most basic state, and once you\u2019ve made the basic version a few times you can add or subtract to the recipe whatever you want in order to change it up and suit the occasion. That\u2019s the fun part.
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Basic traditional falafels involve the combination of flour and mashed up chickpeas until they form a thicker paste: This is the base, and it usually takes just the right mixture of each to make this happen. Don\u2019t rely on proportions when cooking: Rely on feel. When it starts to feel like a moldable paste, that would be what you\u2019re looking for.
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Add celery, green onions and your chosen spices for variety.
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2. The Spicy Falafel<\/strong>
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For a spicy spin on your regular falafel recipe, start with the basic chickpea, flour, and fresh ingredient combination \u2013 except add some freshly chopped chili to the mix, or some dried and crushed chili. Either of the two will work just as well. Many people might even prefer them sprinkled with extra-hot spices after they\u2019re removed from the oil.
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Of course, it\u2019s important to mention that everyone has a limit for the kind of spicy that they can handle \u2013 and the kind of spicy that\u2019s far too much. You\u2019ll have to experiment with the proportions here to find the right mixture for you. Remember that if you\u2019ve added too much of it by accident, all you should do is add the other ingredients again (equally) to thin out the spicy mix \u2013 and at worst you\u2019ll have a bigger batch.
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Remember to be careful when working with spice \u2013 wash your hands!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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3. The Gluten-Free Falafel<\/strong>
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Even though the basic falafel recipe calls for a combination of flour, chickpeas, spices and a few fresh herbs like celery, there are plenty of reasons why you might prefer to look for an alternative to flour \u2013 with the most obvious reason for this being gluten intolerance, celiac disease or any sensitivity to flour-based foods due to the digestive system at all.
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There\u2019s absolutely no reason why you have to use wheat-based flour to make your falafel. If you visit the health aisle of your nearest grocery store, you can try any number of different flours \u2013 including chickpea-based flour \u2013 to achieve the same recipe without it containing gluten and being any risk to your digestive system.
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Some types of flour can have a strong base-taste, and you might have to experiment until you find a mixture that tastes right to you. Sometimes even a mixture of different flour types can work well.
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4. The Cheese-Filled Falafel<\/strong>
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The best falafel recipe starts with just a few ingredients combined into a paste and then fried (carefully) in hot oil until they float to the top \u2013 then flipped. Once slightly drained, they can be turned into a lot of different things from there \u2013 and most of the recipes here are a different spin on the same basic recipe with varying ideas on how you can do it.
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One of the first things that can make a falafel really great is cheese<\/em>, and there are a lot of chefs out there who can\u2019t see many of the dishes they make without it containing cheese in the first place. If this describes you, simply shaping your falafel around<\/em> a small (or larger!) piece of cheese can be one of the best possible things that you ever taste.
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Be careful to avoid piercing the falafel in the oil \u2013 or, of course, burning during the process.
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5. The Dorito-Rolled Falafel<\/strong>
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While some chefs might cringe at the idea of include brand-named anything in their recipes instead of making the entire thing from the beginning, there are plenty of chefs who don\u2019t have this problem when it comes to their recipes \u2013 and this includes most home chefs who\u2019d just like to make something for their meal. Doritos make for a great snack, and it can make for an even better addition to a meal as well.
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While many people will round off their falafel by breading it with actual bread crumbs, there are other things you can use \u2013 including crushed Doritos. It\u2019s easy enough to pull off, and it adds a great element to it that\u2019s very far from traditional but still happens to taste great as an end-result.
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Remember that you\u2019ll have to dip your shaped falafels into the egg before the Dorito mix in order to make sure that it sticks.
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6. The Falafel Wrap<\/strong>
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Once you\u2019ve made some of the traditional falafel recipes that appear on this list, you\u2019ll realize that there are a thousand different things that you can do with the basic recipe \u2013 and once you have your finished falafels, instead of just using them as a side dish as many people do, you can turn them into an entirely separate meal.
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One of these separate meals where falafels make for a great addition is the simple wrap; you can fill the base of your wrap with a simple saucy base like mayonnaise, then some salad, and then add your falafels for the last touch: Of course, the most basic of the falafel recipes mentioned first is only the beginning, and you can still vary the recipe just as much as you want.
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You can even omit the salad and replace it with something like refried beans if you want to mash several traditions. <\/strong>
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7. The Falafel Burger<\/strong>
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Making a falafel wrap is only one of the many versatile ways in which you can use falafels once you\u2019ve actually made them \u2013 and it\u2019s true that it can be such a versatile side or ingredient that you can include it in a thousand possible ways. Of course, within the scope of the article, we\u2019re providing you with a few great ways to make the basic falafel recipe better \u2013 and a few great ways to turn it into a full meal if you\u2019re in a hurry.
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If you\u2019re out of ideas (or you\u2019ve tried everything else), the falafel burger is a great alternative \u2013 and if you\u2019re vegetarian, just substitute the meat for a falafel: But if not, you can even substitute the burger for a falafel. It\u2019s up to you.
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This is an especially great meal because it\u2019s an unexpected blend of two meals at once \u2013 and you can even add cheese.
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8. The Fresh Falafel <\/strong>
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There are many chefs who can\u2019t imagine the majority of their meals without a fresh component of some sort \u2013 and there are plenty of ways to bring this out in the simple falafel recipe. The original falafel recipe generally calls for a few fresh ingredients that go right into the molded flour-and-chickpea mix \u2013 although when you want to be more creative with your recipe, you can push what fresh ingredients you include in addition to the basics pretty far.
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First, you can start off by including fresh chili in your falafel for just the right amount of burn \u2013 or you can tone this down with ingredients like fresh onions. There\u2019s literally no limit to what you can and can\u2019t do with the meal when it comes to making a fresh falafel. It depends on what you have around in the house.
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Sometimes even fresh spinach or basil can work when you want something completely different.
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10. The Herbal Blend Falafel<\/strong>
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There are so many things that you can do with the first basic falafel recipe in order to make it better that we don\u2019t have time to list every single one of them \u2013 so even with what seems like the most basic recipe in the article, you\u2019re allowed to experiment as much as you want using any of the ingredients in this article as the base for it.
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Just one of the different ways in which you can vary the basic falafel recipe is by adding some herbs to the \u201cbatter\u201d when you shape it. Be creative when it comes to which herbs you include and you\u2019ll quickly find what works for you and what doesn\u2019t. Some people might have success with using ingredients like rosemary and thyme, and other people might prefer ingredients like basil \u2013 if you think of any herb you have in your kitchen, it\u2019s likely that you can make it work!
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11. The Meat-Friendly Falafel<\/strong>
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Most of the recipes that are mentioned within the context of this article have been made to be friendly for vegetarians for the most part \u2013 but this doesn\u2019t mean that the recipes have to be vegetarian at all. There are plenty of things that you can do when it comes to including meat in the basic falafel recipe \u2013 and you can even add it to the flour-and-chickpea mixture for it to work great.
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This isn\u2019t traditionally done in most parts of the world, but if you want to shy away from the traditions of the base meal you\u2019re making and come up with something entirely new, this is a great way to do it.
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Yes, there\u2019s no rule that says you can\u2019t make a falafel around a meatball and still have it work well, either. Remember that you don\u2019t want to make the meatball too large \u2013 and make sure that it retains its shape before adding it to the oil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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12. The Second Gluten Free Falafel<\/strong>
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If you\u2019re looking for some great gluten-free recipes, it can be pretty hard to find one that works for you \u2013 especially when it’s something that has flour a base. You\u2019ll be glad to know that you can replace most types of flour with things that are gluten-free \u2013 and you can just look in the nearest health aisle to find some great options for when it comes to gluten-free foods.
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We\u2019ve already mentioned earlier on in this article that you can change around the type of flour you use to make your falafels \u2013 but that\u2019s not the only thing that you can use. You could also use cornflour instead of using the base wheat flour and it\u2019ll come out just as great.
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You can also happen to mix cornflour with things like chickpea flour if you\u2019d like to neutralize the taste of it and reduce on the chickpea flavor.
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13. Sweet Falafels?<\/strong>
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Falafels are traditionally thought of as something that has to be a savory dish, but this doesn\u2019t have to be done at all \u2013 and the entire recipe can be adapted to be a dessert instead with some adaptations. If you still think that might be impossible, take the basic falafel ingredients base that\u2019s just chickpea mash and flour \u2013 from there, you can just omit the herbs and everything that has the term savory in it, of course.
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If you want to make a sweet falafel, start off with the basic falafel recipe that we gave at the beginning of this article and add sugar to the mix instead: You can even add things like chocolate chips into the mix. It\u2019s true that chickpeas are a very neutral ingredient \u2013 and that it will adapt the flavor of anything that you mix it with.
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You can bring out any flavor you want, so why not choose sweet?
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14. Falafels and Syrup<\/strong>
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We thought that we\u2019d end this article on an unusual note and give you another recipe that you can make using sweet falafels \u2013 it\u2019s just too good not to, and this simple base is still something that you can use to great effect when it comes to turning it into a whole new dessert that\u2019s unlike anything you\u2019ve had before.
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If you want to spice up your sweet falafel just a little bit from the base recipe that we showed you earlier on in the article, you can include sugar and cinnamon as an ingredient to sprinkle over the top once they come off the oil \u2013 or you can make a simple syrup with water and sugar over a low heat and pour this over the sweet spin on falafels when you\u2019re done.
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It\u2019s a great idea, and it\u2019s something that very few people have seen before. Serve, of course, with ice cream or cream like you would a waffle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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