Falafel and jalapeno hummus

In the Middle East we love falafel and hummus! I mean- what is not to love?! There are so many recipe out there, that one can get easily confused what exactly is an authentic falafel. But instead of arguing what is authentic and what isn`t you can just enjoy this recipe! To me this is as closer as you can get to the restaurant falafel in Dubai. To make it even more exciting I made this jalapeno hummus that is too good to be true.

I made two versions of the falafel- one baked for my toddler and another one fried for us. Without a doubt the fried is much better and crispier.

NOTE: Before I go to the recipe I want to point few things that I crucial for the success of the falafals. First and foremost do not attempt of making this with canned chickpeas. It just won`t work and chances are you will get flat and mushy pancakes instead. Trust me I tried it before and that`s what I got. Instead of the canned use dry chickpeas instead. And here is the moment that put me off, because the dry one need to soak in water overnight. Thanks to a quick internet research I found an easy way to skip that and cut your time to only 1 hour. How I made it. check the notes below:

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups soaked chickpeas ( do not try this recipe with canned one)
1 small onion, chopped
1 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 cup fresh coriander, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
salt and pepper to taste

PREPARATION:

Soak your chickpeas in water overnight. If you are inpatient like me then just put the chickpeas into a a pot or dutch oven, cover with 4 cm water and boil for 5 minutes. Keep it covered for another 50-60 minutes. It is now ready to use!
In a food processor, combine the soaked and drained chickpeas, onion, parsley, coriander, garlic, cumin, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Process until smooth.
Using your hands, scoop out about 2 tablespoons of the mixture at a time. Shape the falafel into small patties.
Place each falafel in hot oil and fry until golden.

For the hummus I have to admit my blender let me down a bit and I just couldn`t reach the extra smoothness of hummus as we know it. However the taste was just perfect even with the little chunks in it 🙂

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups soaked chickpeas or canned if you want (then use about 2 cans)
1 bunch parsley
2 jalapenos stems removed
2 lemons juiced
2-4 tbsp olive oil
1 garlic cloves
6 tbsp tahini
salt to taste
1/2 cup water to blend easily (this is optional and may vary!)

PREPARATION:

In a food processor , blend all of the coriander, jalapeno, garlic, olive oil, tahini and lemon juice to a puree. Add the salt and the chickpeas and continue to blend until this is a smooth paste .
If it gets too thick add water to thin. Season to taste.