need help with falafel receipe!

bogwalrus

i need to make a big falafel mix for tomorrow.

The problem is that when i try and deep fat fry the falafel balls they fall apart and stay squish instead of hard.

I need help in making them into normal falafel balls.

The ingredients i have used so far are:

8 cans of 400g chopped canned chick peas.

6 onions chopped and mashed into past.

6 cloves of garlic

Some herbs and the usual spices

I have been putting in flour to try and make it cook in the deep fat fryer more solid but maybe i am doing the wrong thing and i believe i have maybe put too much in??

The mix at the moment when rolled into 1inch balls is fairly pasty and squish.

Any advice would be great as to how i can fix this so that they will cook properly the the fryer.

Also what temp should the fryer be at when i put the balls in?

I have it at 150 degree celsius.

Any help would be much appreciated. i dont want all this food to go to waste.

thanks=)

olaola

Have you tried adding some eggs to bind? I'd make them into balls and let them rest before fying too. I'd say the eggs & flour should hold them together.

Are you putting too many falafels in the fryer at the same time?

Minder

You can't make falafels with tinned chickpeas - tinned chickpeas have already been cooked and the texture is all wrong for falafel. Check Claudia Roden's recipes for falafel - dried chick peas or white beans are soaked for 24 hours before being mashed and mixed with the other ingredients. I know this from bitter experience. 150c is probably not hot enough - I'd try at 170c, but the temperture is not the problem.

But back to your problem, as Olaola said, try binding the mixture with egg. I would take a handful of mixture and mix in an egg yolk - make up the balls and see if will hold together in the fryer. If you haven't already used some, a measure of baking powder will help to lighten the falafel while they cook. Use 1 teaspoon per pound of mixture. Again I would add the baking powder to a handful of mixture to see if the result is any good, before tackling the whole batch.

Good luck.

Ponster

1. I'd try making smaller batches until you get the recipe right.

2. Maybe some flour or breadcrumbs to make the mixture less wet and help it stick together.

3. Up the temp to 180°C


I often use Youtube and Videojug for such recipies as it's often easier after having watched someone else do it first

Planet X

http://humus101.com//EN/2007/03/13/an-easy-falafel-recipe/

Can't go wrong with this one.