Falafels with Tahini Sauce

I'm obsessed with falafels. Seriously. I'm obsessed with food in general but falafels have always been my favourite thing. It's strange I've never made them at home before! I guess I didn't want to spend a lot of time soaking chickpeas, grinding everything, refrigerating, frying etc. But, surprisingly, it didn't take as much time as I thought. The only time-consuming thing was making the Tahini sauce but I wanted to make everything by myself and not use store-bought products. Another reason why I've never tried making them is that I try to avoid deep-frying food. But for falafels, I can make an exception. It's worth it!

Falafels with Tahini Sauce

Falafels
1 cup (220g) dried chickpeas, soaked overnight
1 small onion
4 cloves garlic
3 tbsp fresh parsley
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp flour
pinch black pepper
Oil, for frying

Tahini Paste
100g sesame seeds, lightly toasted
1 tbsp oil

Tahini Sauce
Tahini paste (recipe above)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp honey
3 tbsp (45ml) lemon juice
4 tbsp (60ml) water
1 tsp salt

lettuce, chopped
tomato, sliced
onion, sliced

1) First, make the Tahini paste: add sesame seeds into your food processor and process until it starts turning into a paste. Add oil and pulse for a few minutes until it's smooth.

2) To make Tahini sauce, add all the ingredients into your food processor and pulse a few times until smooth. Set aside.

3) To make Falafels: put all the ingredients into your food processor and process until chickpeas look like tiny grits. You don't want to turn this mixture into a paste. Test if the dough is fine by taking a piece of dough and trying to form it into a ball. If it holds together, stop mixing. Refrigerate the mixture for 30 minutes.

4) Heat oil in a pot or a saucepan. If you have a thermometer, make sure the temperature is 180C (350F) degrees. Form little balls and fry for about 4-6  minutes or until nicely brown. Drain on paper towels. 

5) Serve with tahini sauce and salad (and some pita bread, if you like). Enjoy!

Recipe by collecting memories