Traditional Falafel with Stewed Chickpeas & Tzatziki
This easy-to-make falafel recipe is perfect for an afternoon meal and the tzatziki sauce gives a wonderful freshness.
Ingredients
Falafel
- 1 cup canned chickpeas/garbanzo beans
- 1/2 large onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- ½ cup fresh cilantro (and more to top)
- 2 tbsp breadcrumbs
- 2 tsp cumin
- ½ tsp chili pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp lemon juice
Tzatziki Sauce
- 1 cup Greek yogurt
- 1 English cucumber grated
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ½ lemon juice and zest
- 2 tsp minced dill
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
Other
- 4 pita breads or tortillas
- ½ cup lettuce shredded
- 1/3 cup carrots shredded
Instructions
- To make falafel, first wash, drain, and thoroughly dry the chickpeas. Place chickpeas into a food processor and add the remaining ingredients. Process until everything is nicely blended but not quite pureed . Place mixture into a bowl and refrigerate for 1 hr. Then, with wet hands (so it doesn’t stick to your hands), form chickpea paste into ~2 inch balls.
- Fill a saucepan with 1 inch of vegetable oil and heat on medium-high until it sizzles upon introduction of a drop of water. Carefully place falafel balls into saucepan and fry for 3-5 minutes or until golden brown. Remove and place on a plate lined with paper towels to dry.
- Make tzatziki sauce by wrapping grated zucchini with a paper towel and squeezing most of the water out. Combine this and the rest of the ingredients with the Greek yogurt and stir to mix.
- Build sandwiches by heating tortillas or pita bread, adding several falafels, and topping with any ingredients you wish (in this case, we topped with shredded lettuce and carrot). Add tzatziki sauce over everything and top with some fresh cilantro.
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