Perfect falafel recipe, not with chickpeas

בס"ד

 

 

I wanted to make a non-dairy nor meaty meal, so I thought of making falafel.
I planned to make regular falafel out of chickpeas, and then I remembered I have a pack of quinoa waiting for me on the counter.

But I thought to myself: "Can you actually make falafel out of quinoa?"

 

I started googling recipes for falafel with quinoa, and it turns out it does exist. Just not in the way I wanted.
I saw recipes using eggs, and I wanted a vegan recipe, just like an authentic falafel is. Then I saw recipes that combine flour or other ingredients like beans, and I wanted to use only the quinoa.

I decided to go ahead and try my idea of creating QUINOA FALAFEL, and what can I say? It turned out to be a huge hit! Crispy and tasty quinoa falafels.

Quinoa is very healthy, and if you can't enjoy it the traditional way, you will definitely enjoy this quinoa falafel. The quinoa is packed with great nutritional values. It contains all the amino acids needed for the body. The quinoa is also rich in fibers, iron, magnesium, and phosphorus. If you can't consume gluten for some reason, you can enjoy this quinoa falafel since quinoa is gluten-free.

 

People have asked me:"Can you bake the falafel quinoa?"

And the answer is YES!

I prefer the fried version, but if you want the healthier version, you can definitely bake these falafels.
Form balls and place on parchment paper. Spray with oil spray, generously. Preheat oven to 200C/392F, turbo and bake for about 15 minutes.

 

Quinoa falafel/recipe: Con Delight
I measured using universal cups and spoons
Ingredients for 30 falafel balls:
3 cups quinoa
4 1/2 cups hot water
1 medium onion, cut into quarters
4 cubes of frozen garlic cubes
1 1/2 teaspoon of dried coriander
1 Tablespoon cumin
1 Tablespoon sweet paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons of salt
A bag of baking powder (10 gram)

canola oil or other vegetable oil, for deep frying

Preparation:
Place the quinoa in a container and rinse in hot water with a closed lid for about 3 hours. Then, strain from water and squeeze using a paper towel or a cheesecloth in batches, which means, after you strain the quinoa of water. Transfer about a third of the strained quinoa to the paper towel or cloth and squeeze the water out. Do so with the rest of the quinoa.
When you finish, place the quinoa in a food processor and grind until you get some sort of a mushy paste, as much as you can. Add the onion and frozen garlic and process again until all is mixed. Transfer to a bowl.

Add to the quinoa bowl the coriander, cumin, paprika, salt, and baking powder and mix well.

Preheat oil to deep fry in an electric pot or using a thermometer to 170C/338F. Form one ball and fry, so you'll know what's the ideal time for frying one ball. It is best to form the balls using somewhat wet hands (or you can work with greased hands, so it will be safer to work).

After frying, let the ball cool a bit and then open it to see if it's cooked through. Then taste it to know if you need to add more seasoning to your liking.

I fried the falafels for around 4-5 minutes. If the oil doesn't cover the balls entirely, you will need to flip them halfway through the cooking. You can fry as many falafel as you want at once, but make sure the oil temp won't drop.

You can serve alongside tahini, inside a pita with vegetables and french fries, and enjoy a perfect quite-healthy vegan meal, or alongside stir-fried vegetables. I chose the last option and even burnt the vegetables, but it was the tastier kind of burnt 😂😂.