Fabulous Falafels

Give them a shmoosh and chomp down!

Eating at Mr. Shawarma has always been a tasty treat Chris and I can't never get enough of. $3.50 falafel pitas? YES PLEASE! Open till 3am almost everyday of the week? EVEN BETTER! Having to walk 25 minutes to get to you . . fun, but not always possible/awesome. To tackle the issue of loving spicy falafels but not needing the leave the house, we got a little wild with some chick peas.  

It doesn't take much hard work to get a finished product like this -------------------> 
Just grab a food processor and get mixin'!

Feisty Falafels

1 can no-salt added chickpeas (540 ml)
1/2 cup diced red onion
3 tbsp fresh cilantro and parsley
2 tbsp lemon juice (as fresh as possible of course)
2 tbsp flour
1 tbsp tahini
1 tsp garlic - minced as well as you can
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp coriander, chili powder, and salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (play around with this to suit yourself - don't be a wimp)
some olive oil


1. Add all the ingredients except the olive oil to a food processor. Pulse it, scraping down the bowl now and again, until the mix is similar to really thick cookie dough. Move this mix to a bowl, cover it with a towel or something similar to plastic wrap (please skip the plastic wrap...I wish I had this time!). Put it in the fridge for at least 1 hour - this'll make it firm.  

Chunky, spicy loveliness.

2. When it's firmed up, roll the dough into balls about the same size as a big drop cookie - a couple of tbsps. Flatten the balls a little bit in your hands.

Gettin' a tan.

3. Heat some oil in a pan and add some patties to it. Fry them up for a few minutes on each side, or until they get nice and brown and heated through (press on them to see if they're hot enough through the middle).
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** If you leave the patties out of the pan for a bit before putting them into your pita they'll get a little firmer. We love shmushing them into a pita with spicy, homemade hummus, raw onions, lettuce, and whatever else we might have lying around.  

Healthy, homemade fast food served right to your kitchen - what more could you want?! Mr. Shawarma now and again of course :)