Falafel

This recipe is for those who would like to make falafel from scratch.

I love falafel! Yet, I only sometimes make it because deep-frying is not my favorite cooking method in my home kitchen. (It's funny that most of my favorite foods need deep frying :) ) Today, we have freezing temperatures in Austin, and everything is slowed down. So, I was in the mood to experiment — with frying the falafel in my aebleskiver/takoyaki pans. Since I had time and wish, I made fresh sesame paste by hand. I also used a mortar and pestle for grinding my spices. There is no sacred meaning in that — use your favorite tahini and grind spices using an electric grinder! ( If you dry toast whole seeds before grinding, it will be even more delicious.) However, insist on removing the chickpeas' skins for better taste and texture.

for 15 falafel 1"D

Ingredients
- 200g dry Kabuli chickpeas (Ghana)
- 3 tbsp sesame paste (2 tbsp sesame seeds + 1 tbsp roasted sesame oil)
- 100 g onion
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 1/2 tbsp whole coriander seeds
- 1 1/2 tbsp cumin seeds
- 1/2 tsp black peppercorns
- 1/2 to 1 tsp coarse sea salt (to your taste)
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley (I used frozen)

~ 5 tbsp avocado oil for frying