Falafel

Homemade falafel on the left, takeout on the right

I need to start this post by saying that this comparison is very subjective.  The outcome depends very heavily on the quality of Middle Eastern food available to you locally and so my experience may be very different from yours.  That being said, I think that at least the time and cost comparison will be relevant to most people and might be helpful.  Also, I have a really great recipe for homemade falafel that I want to share and you should definitely try it even if you have wonderful falafel available near you.  The recipe below is adapted from a recipe for Falafel Burgers that I found in Cooking Light.  I kept much of the recipe the same, but instead of shaping the mixture into burgers I made small coins of falafel since that is how they make it at the cafe where we ordered take out falafel.

Homemade Falafel Coins

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 15 1/2 ounce can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

1/4 cup onion, chopped

2 Tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup dry breadcrumbs, divided

2 Tablespoons canola oil

For serving:  warmed pita bread, thinly sliced onion and cucumber, yogurt sauce

1.  Place the first 8 ingredients (beans through salt) in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until finely chopped, scraping the bowl if the mixture starts to stick to the sides.

2.  Scoop the garbanzo bean mixture into a medium mixing bowl and stir in 2 Tablespoons of the bread crumbs until well mixed.  Place the remaining bread crumbs in a shallow bowl or dish.

3.  Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Take 1 Tablespoon of the falafel mixture and form it into a round coin, pressing it firmly to make sure it sticks together well.  Coat the falafel coin on all sides with the breadcrumbs, pressing them in lightly.  Repeat with all of the falafel mixture and place the rounds into the hot oil carefully.  Fry until golden brown and cooked through, about 5 minutes per side.  Drain on paper towels before serving with the pita bread, sauce and vegetables.

There is a Middle Eastern cafe near our house that my husband frequents and everything there seems to be very fresh and well made.  We picked up two orders of falafel from the cafe for lunch today as a comparison to my homemade version and this is where the tricky part of the comparison comes in.  I will just say that I think the falafel at this restaurant is fairly representative of what you normally get at a Middle Eastern cafe and it is also similar to the falafel I have had at Whole Foods.  However, we don’t live in a big city where there would be a wider selection of ethnic foods and restaurants, so your experience may be very different.

Given that caveat, there were some major differences between the takeout and homemade falafel.  For starters, the homemade falafel tasted much fresher and had more flavor overall.  The fresh lemon juice, parsley and onion makes a huge difference.  The takeout falafel wasn’t bad, but it tasted very salty without the bright, fresh flavor of the homemade.  Also, for better or worse, the takeout falafel was much drier and crunchier than the homemade version probably because the restaurant falafel was deep fried while mine was just fried in a little bit of oil in a skillet.  Never having been to a country where falafel is commonly eaten, I don’t know which cooking method is more authentic, but if you prefer a crunchy, dry falafel, then you may like the takeout variety best.  On the other hand, if you like your falafel a bit softer with lots of fresh flavor, then this homemade recipe is definitely worth a try.  The homemade falafel was much, much cheaper than takeout, which makes it a great choice if you normally get take out but are trying to save a few bucks.

Bottom Line:  Homemade falafel is fairly easy and very expensive to make and ended up being much fresher tasting than the falafel from our local cafe.  However, the homemade falafel did not have the thick, crunchy coating of the take out variety as it was not deep fried.  If you are trying to save money, homemade falafel is definitely the way to go.

Homemade Falafel                                                         Takeout Falafel

Cost:  $0.65 (for 6 pieces)                                                  Cost:  $2.99 (for 6 pieces)

Time:  30 minutes                                                                 Time:  None