This recipe comes to us from Joy Howard, a professional recipe developer, food stylist, writer, and wonderful cook who lives in Northampton. She began cooking it when her 20-something daughter was a tween; It’s still a fast-weeknight-meal favorite with her two younger girls. Why so big with little ones? They’re easy to eat, and kids love to dip their food in the yogurt sauce.
For the falafel:
Ingredients
1 cup dried chickpeas
1 tbsp. lemon juice
3 cloves garlic minced
1 small onion, coarsely chopped
½ cup fresh curly parsley, stems removed, tightly packed
1 tsp. cumin
½ tsp. coriander
½ tsp. baking soda dissolved in 1/4 cup water
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
Pinch of cayenne
Vegetable oil for frying
To make:
Rinse chickpeas, then soak them in several inches of water overnight in the refrigerator. (I’ve found the patties don’t hold together as well if you use canned chickpeas.)
Drain chickpeas and place in a food processor. Add all remaining ingredients and blend, scraping the sides if necessary, until mixture is creamy, about 1 minute total.
Heat an inch of oil in a large, heavy frying pan to 375° (a spoonful of the mixture should sizzle as soon as it’s immersed). Scoop up a heaping dinner tablespoon of falafel mixture and gently place in heated oil. Place 4-5 more spoonfuls in pan.
Fry patties until they’re thoroughly brown on one side, about 2 to 3 minutes, then flip to brown other side.
Drain patties on a paper towel and sprinkle with additional salt, if desired. Serve with yogurt dipping sauce. Makes 16 to 20 patties.
For the yogurt dipping sauce:
Ingredients
6-oz container plain yogurt
3 tbsp. water
1 tbsp. finely chopped, fresh curly parsley
1 tsp. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste
To make:
In a small bowl, whisk together yogurt and water. Add remaining ingredients and stir until thoroughly combined. Makes 1 cup.
Photograph by Joy Howard.