Just the other day, I was craving to have some Falafel. Middle Eastern cuisine is not easily found from where I am. So I decided to make some on my own. Guess what, the moment I tried to flip my falafel, it all fell apart. Why oh why?
The main reason that a falafel falls apart is that the mixture is too wet. As canned chickpeas are boiled and then soaked in water, they tend to have higher water content. So using them as part of your mixture will definitely cause it to be too wet.
Wet falafel mixture is just one of the problem that causes your falafel to fall apart. Let’s dig in to the rest now.
Wet Falafel Mixture
As mentioned before, a wet mixture will make it hard to form them into patty or balls.
Instead of using canned chickpeas, use dry chickpeas that has been soaked overnight. Be sure to drained all the water before putting them in the food processor. Once those has been blended, you can rest the mixture in the refrigerator. This will help it to stay in its form too.
Using Canned Chickpeas
Another reason why using canned chickpeas will cause your falafel to fall apart, because canned Chickpeas are usually cooked. Cooking will release the starch that are in the chickpeas. They no longer have the sticky substance that can help hold the mixture in its shape.
Over Blending the Mixture
When blending the falafel mixture, you want to blend or pulse it until it still has some small bits of texture. Do not blend until it is smooth like a smoothie. You want it more like a hash brown texture rather than a mash potato one.
If all else fail… use flour
Like in my case, I followed some online recipe to use dried chickpeas that are soaked overnight. I didn’t have a food processor so I manually process them. When I formed them into patties, they seem to be holding well.
I didn’t fry mine. I put them into a preheated oven. They were still holding onto the shape when I put them in. However when I tried to flip them over, they started falling apart. This is what my first batch of ‘falafel’ looked like.
Then I decided to add some flour into my mixture, this worked for me. My patties stayed in shape as you can see here.
What to do with the failed falafel?
Don’t worry, no falafel was wasted. They were still yummy when I threw them in with some tomato and carrots to eat with.
I also made pasta with those failed bits of falafel. You can make a ‘Bolognese’ sauce, but instead of minced meat, you just replace it with your ‘minced falafel’. Unfortunately, I didn’t managed to take pics of it, as I was rushing for work. But trust me, they are yummy!
