No Need to Dabble in Falafel

I love falafels. It was one of many cheap eats during university days and when my favourite falafel restaurant left the area way back then, I have yet to find one still to this day that measures up to their delicious golden crispy, perfectly seasoned orbs that combine chick peas and fava beans- yes, I had to ask.

I don't know how I first came across this Cedar brand for pre-mix falafels, but it's damn good and I pick up a box once in a while in Lebanese stores, and yes, it combines both ground fava beans and ground chick peas as the first two ingredients. A box has been sitting in the back of my cupboard for a while, and when I rediscovered it, I instantly had a craving and knew I had to make it tonight. Since the kids were home with me, I had to make do with what I had in the fridge, such as lettuce, tomato, onions, pickles and pita bread (not bad), otherwise I would have done the whole nine yards with tabouli, pickled turnips, tahini and hummus.

The box says to mix well two cups of water with the premix in a bowl and let it sit for one hour before shaping. When it was ready, I used plastic gloves to easily manipulate the sticky mixture into one-inch thick patties. TIP: These disposable gloves are super handy for marinating meats. I picked up a package at the Galleria Korean supermarket.  Although the falafel instruction says to fry in enough oil for patties to float, I prefer to pan-fry mine in a thin coat of oil in the pan until both sides were golden brown- or very brown in this case. The sides may not be as crispy but the results tastes just as good, with a lot less effort and a lot less wasted oil.

 

 



Drain on paper towels before serving. 

For deep-frying, make sure the oil is hot and deep-fry until falafel balls float up and are cooked golden.

I tried Arz for the first time, and they were really flavourful!

A nice drizzle of mayonnaise spiked with chopped garlic and some vegetables encased in half a pita and voila- a perfect hand-held meal for my kids!

Delicious mom!

There are times when you find incredible products like this one with a pretty clean ingredient list that you ask yourself why bother to make from scratch when the results are just as good- I say just go for it and save yourself some extra  time!