A year ago, a dear reader shared with me this amazing recipe for homemade falafel mix. I made it the very next week — and wow! So simple! So delicious!
I actually tried making falafel once from scratch – like from actual dried chick peas. OMG, what a nightmare. It was entirely too patchked for me. (And you know I don’t do patchke!)
So back to the Osem falafel mix I went. But then Judith shared this recipe with me and I’m pretty sure I heard angels singing. This mix is actually better than Osem (which I admit to loving). Better because it’s MSG-free and additives-free — and better because it actually tastes better.
Once you mix everything up, you just store it in a ziploc bag or air-proof storage container. Whenever you have a hankering for falafel, simple mix it with water and lemon juice – and voila!
One batch of the dry ingredients made enough falafel for three dinners for my family five, but your mileage may vary.
I’ve been meaning to share this recipe with you for the past 11 months, but somehow I never got around to it. Finally today, in honor of Yom Ha’Atzmaut, I’m sharing this super easy, amazingly delicious falafel mix recipe! I hope you love it as much as I do!
Homemade Dried Falafel Mix
Ingredients
5 cups garbanzo bean (chickpea) flour
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons dried parsley flakes
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons turmeric powder
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
Instructions
Blend all ingredients together and store in an airtight container at room temperature.
To Prepare Falafel Balls
Combine 1 cup homemade dried falafel mix with 1/2 cup hot water and 2 tsp lemon juice. (We double or triple this for our family of 5, which makes about 20 falafel balls.)
Put in the refrigerator for 15 minutes until thickened. Roll out even sized balls for frying. (I used a melon baller to measure them out, but Amazon actually sells a falafel maker, which I saw used at many-a falafel stand in Israel… coolest kitchen gadget!)
Heat 2-inches of vegetable oil and pan-fry for two minutes on each side.
Serve with hummus, pita and Israeli salad. For an even more authentic experience, add in any of the following:
- “chips” (aka french fries)
- pickled vegetables – cauliflower, beets and cabbage are popular
- schug
- tehina
- fried eggplant or baba ghanoush (or both)
- matbucha
- amba (this spicy mango sauce is my absolute favorite falafel condiment, and I’ve never found it in the US. Here’s an amba recipe – but has anyone ever since this for sale in America?)
What’s your favorite way to serve falafel? Do you make yours from scratch or use a mix?
Looking for more Israeli recipes? Check out my recipe for Israeli meatballs, aka ketzitzot.
Can these be baked instead of fried?
I told my husband that I wanted to try baking them tonight. He balked! But I may do half that way anyway. I’ll let you know!
I ended up frying them all – sorry! Next time!
Thanks for sharing, I will be making this as soon as I can pick up chickpea flour. I’ve made falafel a few times from dried chickpeas, but ugh, so much work (I also made homemade pitas for the same meal, I obviously went over board). This looks so much easier, I can’t wait to try it!
I use my Vitamix to make chickpea flour. Just buy some dry chickpeas and blend the hell out of them. You’ll have chickpea flour in no time.
Chickpea flour looks really expensive. How does the cost of this mix compare to using dried chickpeas? (How many cups of chickpea flour in a pound?)
Dry chickpeas are less expensive than the flour. I believe I got my bag at Whole Foods for around $5 with a coupon.
I got 3 pounds of dried chickpeas for $6 that yielded me 10 cups of flour.
Thank you for this. I have been looking for a gluten free falafel mix or recipe for a long time. Really miss them. Can’t wait to try this out!
YES! Another big benefit! They are so yummy! Hope you like them, too.
Yum!! Just made these. Thank whoever gave you the recipe for me. So easy and moist on the inside. I got a 16 oz chick pea flour for $2.97 at my local grocery store and that’s about 5 cups of flour.
Fantastic to hear! So glad you found such an awesome deal on the flour. That definitely beats the prices of the Osem packets!
Dh makes falafel from scratch every week. We just soak dried chick peas from the morning to be ready by dinner. The frying is what really takes the most time. Honestly, his falafel is tastier than most falafel stores. You are invited to come taste on your next trip :).
hey love this idea-! I just mixed the dry flour mix with the wet ingredients and left in the fridge for 30mins, it’s super sticky and def won’t be able to roll into balls. Anyone else experience this, any tips?
Na – If your hands are wet, the mix shouldn’t stick. Unless it’s still like not at all come together? Mine tends to be a bit sticky, but nothing terrible. Let us know if the wet hands does the trick!
Couldnt find osem mixture in my supermarket anymore so tried this reciepe also heated up some ready made supermarket ones in case mine didnt turn out well the family loved the ones i made they were gone in seconds had in heated wholemeal pitta bread with salad and tahini it was lovely;be using this reciepe from now on no more tasteless supermarket fallafels for us.
YAY! I’m so happy that you and your family enjoyed it!!!
Mixed all ingredients together & tried to make falafel out of this mixture adding water to it, but all that happened was it turned into a pasty mess that once I tried cooking it & later tasting it was cake consistency & left a really nasty taste in my mouth. All ingredients I used were as fresh as possible & the mix smelled great, but the finished product was so NOT at all like falafel I’ve ever had from a ready made mix or a restaurant. Sorry, NOT going to use this recipe EVER again & will stick to ready made mixes that work all of the time or buying ready made falafel in a restaurant.
Oh no! I”m sorry to hear it didn’t turn out for you 🙁
Hi Mara,
I love falafel. There’s a mediterranean hookah lounge in my city that serves the green kind, with fava beans.
I’m trying to eat less animal products but I’m also a student, so choosing foods that are convenient are easy to make it batches is a priority too. I’ve made falafel from box mix before but I figured I couldn’t keep buying tiny boxes for $3 each.
I made this recipe, with a little too much turmeric and coriander because I misread the directions. The batter sticks to my fingers regardless if I wet my hands.
The first time I cooked the batter it was using the oven, and I must have oiled the pan wrong because I ended up with these flat, dry weirdly textured “cookies” of falafel.
The second time around I pan-fried the falafel and it tasted much better.
Isn’t ground coriander just cumin?
Totally gonna do this with personal tweaks.
Nope – two different things. Ground coriander is the seed of cilantro (my favorite herb!).
I stumbled across your recipe, tried it and loved it. Its SO simple to make. I use a Vitamix to make the chickpea flour. I use a deep fat fryer to cook them. They come out perfectly every time.
Thank you
Yay, so happy you liked it! And great idea on the Vitamix for the chickpea flour! Love that!
Indian shops are a good source of chickpea flour. I picked up a kilogram – 2.2 pounds for US$3.00 !
I cooked up a batch tonight and everyone loved it. My wife lived in Haifa for almost six years and said – it tasted as good as what she ate there. I found a recipe for tahini and used that to make the tahini sauce and it was divine. It’s great that I can make this whenever I want!
Thanks for the great recipe!
Wow! What a lovely review! Thank you! 🙂
Thank you for sharing! I’ve never made falafel so I don’t know what to expect. You said that you double or triple. Which quantity makes 20 falafel balls? Do you know what size scoop you use? I’m going to try this recipe then share it with my best friend.
I would recommend doubling it for 20-25 balls!`