A good falafel sandwich is a perfect food. Or, as Scott Zwiezen of Los Angeles’ Dune calls it, “a super versatile and flavorful street food that appeals equally to vegans, vegetarians, and meat-eaters alike.” The packed pita has crispy and light chickpea balls, a creamy tahini sauce, something pickled, and something spicy. Each bite is a little different, and it’s always immensely satisfying. (There’s a reason falafel is included in the latest batch of new emoji.)
That said, making falafel at home is a project. But it’s doable with the right stuff, if you decide to undertake it on your own. Eater consulted some of the nation’s leading falafel makers on what makes their falafel so special and what products you’d need to give it a shot.
A food processor or meat grinder
Naturally vegan, falafel balls contain only a few ingredients: a chickpea base with varying onions, herbs, spices, and garlic. So the trick is less about the ingredients but the execution. The first step is to grind down the chickpeas.
“Good falafel depends on two variables,” says Caitlin McMillan, chef of Goldie in Philadelphia and an Eater Young Gun. “Because it’s a very sensitive batter, the amount of time it is mixed and the amount of moisture within the batter is what determines a good product.”
The moisture-texture balance is a delicate one. “If there’s too much moisture, then the batter will be super loose and not form a ball, and too little will lead to dry falafel,” McMillan says. “If you under-mix the batter, you won’t be able to form a ball. If you over-mix, the batter becomes bouncy and almost — excuse my language — glutenous.”
Zwiezen echoes McMillan’s advice to tread carefully with the mixture. “We would caution against overworking the falafel mixture because that can lead to a dry and doughy falafel like a hush puppy. That is to say: Be careful not to grind your ingredients too finely, you’re looking for a coarser mixture.”
Einat Admony of Taim in New York City uses a Hobart meat grinder to create a perfect falafel mixture, and forms the balls with a custom scoop from Israel. She recommends home cooks use a food processor to best approximate the all-important texture.
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... or a legit professional falafel ball maker
Goldie also uses a professional falafel ball maker, a motorized baller that can mix and shape ingredients in a pressurized drum. “We rely on our handy dandy falafel machine that pumps out about 25-30 falafel in about 30 seconds,” McMillan says — which helps them keep up the pace during a busy service. (For the home cook, this is probably unnecessary — and very hard to justify cost-wise...)
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Something really good for deep frying, like a Dutch oven
While a commercial fryer isn’t recommended for a home kitchen, a Le Creuset Dutch oven is your best bet for an even fry at home, because it maintains a consistent oil temperature. Zwiezen cautions, “Be careful not to overcrowd the kettle with too many fritters when you are frying; that will cool down the oil and can lead to a greasy and mushy falafel. Use a high smoke point oil such as sunflower, safflower, or even canola oil.”
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A really, really good timer
Even more important than the fryer is the timer; falafel is sensitive and overcooked falafel balls are disappointing. For McMillan, “The most important tool in the whole process is a timer. Goldie uses the Taylor Precision Products Pro Splash n’ Drop — this timer goes to battle and also sounds like a sinking ship, which means it’s impossible for the staff to ignore it.”
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A spider or strainer to get the balls out
At Goldie, “The other tools involved in the process of producing falafel to-order are a square mesh hand strainer and a half size hotel pan with a resting rack placed inside the hotel pan so the falafel can properly rest,” according to McMillan.
Dune also prefers a square strainer, because the shape goes best with a commercial rectangular fryer (they’ve tried both in the past).
Says Zwiezen, “At home, a round spider works best because the fry kettle is likely round.“
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Lots of toppings
When the falafel have safely exited the oil, the fun begins: adding toppings. Falafel can be served over salad or in a pita with a variety of sauces and veggies. Says Admony, “I’d never serve (or eat) falafel without tahini, amba, a mango pickle, schug (an Israeli hot sauce full of herbs), and shifka (pickled pepper) on the side.”
Zwiezen has a more hybrid topping preference: “Tahini sauce, turnip pickles, and good old-fashioned Louisiana Crystal hot sauce.”
For a mid-service snack at Goldie, McMillan loves “a pita top, which is the by-product from cutting the pitas open to make a sandwich pocket, with a single falafel ball, whatever pickle is around, carrots, amba, tahini, and our schug sauce — BEST THING EVER.”