Perfect Homemade FALAFEL with Fresh Cucumber Salad & Creamy Yogurt Sauce
Falafel is one of my favorite middle eastern foods! They can be difficult to get right, but when you do, they are utter perfection. Crispy on the outside, soft and moist but not mushy on the inside, and packed with flavor. I spent years trying to make homemade falafel, failing miserably, until I discovered the secret I had been missing. I had been trying to make the with canned chickpeas, but the secret is to use DRIED chickpeas. Who knew?! It truly makes all the difference, in creating the prefect falafel texture.
Our favorite falafel recipe comes from Tori Avey. Here is a link to her site, I highly recommend checking her out. https://toriavey.com/falafel/ . We pair her perfect falafel with our own homemade creamy, tzatziki inspired yogurt sauce, a fresh cucumber salad, and warm pita bread. For store bought pita bread, we recommend Papa Pita, but if you’d like to make your own, we have an easy to follow recipe for you.
Watch our step-by-step recipe video:
Perfect Homemade FALAFEL with Fresh Cucumber Salad & Creamy Yogurt Sauce
Ingredients
Falafel Ingredients:
- 1 LB dry garbanzo beans
- 1 tsp baking soda divided
- ½ large or 1 small onion
- 2 tsp garlic minced
- 1 ¾ tsp sea salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 2 tsp cumin
- 1 Tbsp dried parsley or 1/4 cup fresh
- 1 ½ Tbsp all purpose flour
Yogurt Sauce Ingredients:
- ⅔ cup sour cream
- ⅔ cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp tonys Creole seasoning
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1 tsp lime juice
- 5 grinds fresh black pepper
Cucumber Salad Ingredients:
- 1 large English Cucumber
- 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes
- ½ – ⅔ can black olives
- ½ red onion
- juice of 1 lemon
- 2 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
Falafel
- Rinse garbanzo beans, cover with 3 inches water, mix in 1/2 tsp baking soda and soak in fridge 12-24 hours. Change water after 12 hours if soaking longer.
- Rinse and drain garbanzos, then process in food processor with remaining ingredients until texture is fine.
- Use cookie scoop to form balls, and fry in 1/2 inch oil for 2 minutes each side, or until golden.
Yogurt Sauce
- Combine all ingredients together in a small bowl, then cover and refrigerate until serving. Can be made ahead of time.
Cucumber Salad
- Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl, and serve immediately. Veggies can be chopped ahead of time, but wait until serving to dress with lemon and oil for best texture.