# Falafel



## Mad Cook (Apr 28, 2016)

Not sure if this has been discussed before but I was watching "The Pioneer Woman" (I know, I know....) this morning and she was making felafel. With a can of cooked chickpeas!

My Lebanese restauranteur friend insists that felafel MUST be made with soaked, raw chickpeas. Having made felafel both ways I can support that view. It's a bit more effort to grind up the raw chickpeas but very much better than using a can.

(Incidentally, quite safe to use raw chickpeas unlike red kidney beans.)


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## GotGarlic (Apr 28, 2016)

Sometimes she makes things from scratch. Sometimes she takes a shortcut. I think most of us do that. It's not the end of the world.


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## Roll_Bones (Apr 28, 2016)

I saw someone make hummus with canned garbanzo's.  I was always under the impression it should be made with raw peas that have been soaked overnight?
I have a bag of dried garbanzo's that is sitting because i'm not exactly sure how to go about making either hummus or fallafel.


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## GotGarlic (Apr 28, 2016)

Roll_Bones said:


> I saw someone make hummus with canned garbanzo's.  I was always under the impression it should be made with raw peas that have been soaked overnight?
> I have a bag of dried garbanzo's that is sitting because i'm not exactly sure how to go about making either hummus or fallafel.



I've always made hummus with canned chickpeas. I have no doubt that some people in the Middle East take modern shortcuts as well. It's not a big deal. 

Here's a recipe for making it from dried. Get yourself a big mortar and pestle for grinding it  though! No cheating with a food processor! 

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/hummus-for-real-recipe.html

Wait a minute, slow cooker? Nope, can't use that, either. You must soak them overnight and then cook them for three hours. Over a fire outside. Because otherwise it just won't be authentic.


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## Janet H (Apr 28, 2016)

GotGarlic said:


> Sometimes she makes things from scratch. Sometimes she takes a shortcut. I think most of us do that. It's not the end of the world.


Maybe not the end of the world but still, I'm betting not a great end result.  Her recipe includes flour to thicken the overly moist cooked beans. 

The real deal has no flour and would have a fundamentally different texture imo.

here's a good read: Why Don't Canned Chick Peas Instead of Dried Work Well for Falafel? And So Much More... - CulinaryLore.com


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## GotGarlic (Apr 28, 2016)

Janet H said:


> Maybe not the end of the world but still, I'm betting not a great end result.  Her recipe includes flour to thicken the overly moist cooked beans.
> 
> The real deal has no flour and would have a fundamentally different texture imo.
> 
> here's a good read: Why Don't Canned Chick Peas Instead of Dried Work Well for Falafel? And So Much More... - CulinaryLore.com



I'm sure you're right that it would be different; whether it's great or not is subjective. All I'm saying is that sometimes we do things one way, and other times we do them a different way. I think people should encouraged to cook for themselves and not be ashamed of, or criticized for, taking shortcuts. Recipes have changed throughout the millennia with advances in technology and the spread of new ingredients. This is just another example of that.


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## Whiskadoodle (Apr 28, 2016)

What what.  I like Pioneer Woman.  Been reading her for years.  

Yes,  we did discuss falafels before,  and probably before that, but I don' know.    At the time I asked DxW how we used to make falafels.   She said we used a hand meat grinder to grind the chick peas after soaking all night.  Don't know if they were further pulverized in a blender after that or what.     She said it was easier to buy already  ground up at the organic food co-op.  Hers were really good tasting.   We used to have them semi-regularly as we were semi-vegetarian.


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## Mad Cook (Apr 29, 2016)

GotGarlic said:


> I've always made hummus with canned chickpeas. I have no doubt that some people in the Middle East take modern shortcuts as well. It's not a big deal.
> 
> Here's a recipe for making it from dried. Get yourself a big mortar and pestle for grinding it  though! No cheating with a food processor!
> 
> ...


Well, it's a smallish big deal if it tastes better whether we're talking about felafel or hummus.

I have no problem using an FP for jobs like this or a slow cooker or a gas stove or soaking overnight and this isn't a discussion on authenticity - just a matter of which tastes best. You're just being silly.


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## Mad Cook (Apr 29, 2016)

Janet H said:


> Maybe not the end of the world but still, I'm betting not a great end result.  Her recipe includes flour to thicken the overly moist cooked beans.
> 
> The real deal has no flour and would have a fundamentally different texture imo.
> 
> here's a good read: Why Don't Canned Chick Peas Instead of Dried Work Well for Falafel? And So Much More... - CulinaryLore.com


Yes, I noticed the flour. The article is very interesting.


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## GotGarlic (Apr 29, 2016)

Mad Cook said:


> Well, it's a smallish big deal if it tastes better whether we're talking about felafel or hummus.
> 
> I have no problem using an FP for jobs like this or a slow cooker or a gas stove or soaking overnight and this isn't a discussion on authenticity - just a matter of which tastes best. You're just being silly.



No, I'm not. I'm expressing my exasperation with people declaring that THIS is how it MUST be done


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## larnold (Jun 2, 2016)

I like falafel


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## Roll_Bones (Jun 2, 2016)

Me too.


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## skilletlicker (Jun 2, 2016)

I don't know anything about falafel but I do make hummus pretty often. Never heard of using soaked raw beans though. Of course, there aren't enough libraries to hold all I don't know.


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## Suthseaxa (Jun 18, 2016)

I recently made falafel with dried chickpeas (I never cared for dried before because they take so long to boil!)

The result was absolutely fantastic and leagues better than using canned  Does anyone else add any flour/gram flour? I found I had to, but the recipe I used did not call for it.


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## liliedu13 (Jun 23, 2016)

falafel  it's so delicious


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## outRIAAge (Jun 23, 2016)

I cannot imagine that canned could be as good as good-quality, soaked, dried beans. For one thing, soaking gives a chance to add more flavour, like by using good stock or something like carrot juice (eh... the jury's still out on that one 

But the best - by far - falafel I've made was when I found FRESH garbanzo beans at Costco. I was all over them like a cheap suit. They are bright green, grassy, and delicious. If you're lucky enough to find some, use them 50:50 with dried. No need to be pure, either: make falafel with fresh fava beans instead. Those go lovely with liver and a nice Chianti...

And, if you're a cooking fool like me, don't stop there. I just now discovered:

Sasatay 

They are Indonesian tuna felafel. I haven't made them yet, but I can warn you that toasting shrimp paste is a smelly process.


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## CraigC (Jun 24, 2016)

outRIAAge said:


> They are Indonesian tuna felafel. I haven't made them yet, *but I can warn you that toasting shrimp paste is a smelly process*.



I toast shrimp paste when making some of the Thai curry pastes. I like the aroma.


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