Falafel Recipe | Baked Oil Free Veg Falafel

Vegan Falafel Recipe

Our no fry veg falafel nuggets can be eaten as is or you can make a falafel wrap or falafel sandwich to switch things up.

Falafels, do you really love them but hold off because they are fatty and unhealthy? Well, fret no more! Here is a falafel recipe that is a dream come true for falafel lovers.

How to make falafel healthy?

Simple! by making it without using any processed ingredients; in this case, oil. Our no fry veg falafel nuggets can be eaten as is or you can make a falafel wrap or falafel sandwich to switch things up. The best dip for these delicious and easy falafel is, of course, hummus.

Try our healthy falafels and send us pictures of this delicious, wholesome and nutritious dish.

Whole Food Plant Based Falafel Recipe

Course: Side dish for Course 3: Grain Dishes at Lunch & Dinner Meals, Snack
Cuisine: Mediterranean Recipe from the Middle East
Prep Time: 20 mins
Cook Time: 20 mins
Servings: 25 Patties

INGREDIENTS

2 cups Chickpeas dried
2 Onions
5 cloves Garlic
1 tbsp Sesame / Til / Ellu
2 tbsp Coriander Seed / Dhaniya Powder
1 tbsp Cumin / Jeera Powder
1 tbsp Black Pepper Powder
1 tsp Red Chili Powder
1 pinch Cardamom / Elaichi Powder
1/2 cup Dill Leaves chopped
1 cup Coriander Stems & Leaves chopped
2 tbsp Miso Paste (Healthy Salt Alternative. See Nutrition Science Highlights below)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Soak chickpeas overnight or at least for 8 hours.
2. Peel and grind garlic to a paste. Keep aside for ten minutes. In the meantime, peel onions and chop into quarters.
3. Once soaked, drain water and grind in a food processor with all other ingredients until coarsely ground.
4. Make balls from the falafel mixture and pat into cutlet-shaped patties. If you find the mixture sticking to your fingers while doing this, keep a cup of water next to you and keep wetting your fingers as you make the falafels.
5. Line a baking tray with parchment paper or a silicone sheet, or use a wire tray. Arrange the falafels on the tray without touching each other. Bake at 160 deg C for 30 minutes, flipping about halfway through. Serve fresh with hummus!

Nutrition Science Highlights for WFPB Veg Falafel Recipe

1. Why Miso Paste? Miso paste is fermented & salted soya bean paste. American Heart Association Maximum recommended maximum daily salt intake of 3.75 grams per person to minimise risk of high blood pressure, stomach cancer and chronic kidney disease. In addition to helping us restrict salt intake, replacing salt with miso paste also helps by neutralising the negative effects of salt by soya phytonutrients. You can easily make fresh miso paste at home by mixing 100 grams of cooked soya paste with 10 grams of salt, or 10 tablespoons of cooked soya paste with 1 tablespoon of salt. If making at home, ensure to use immediately, or freeze in batches to use later. Or, simply use 3.75 grams of salt or less per day per person and add 18 to 20 grams (dry weight) of soya beans in any dishes, spread through the day!
2. Why legumes? Legumes are the #1 number food associated with long life in many recent large studies! They also fuel your gut microbiome through their resistant starch content and slow down glucose absorption, keeping your blood sugar levels steady - even in the next meal! This has been called the Second Meal Effect. This recipe is one of the yummiest ways to include pulses and legumes in your daily diet.
3. Why crush garlic and wait? When garlic is chopped, crushed, ground or bitten into, two chemicals stored in different parts of garlic's cells combine in a chemical reaction to form allicin. This is a slightly bitter compound that deters insects, but happens to be very beneficial to our health. Allicin helps reduce blood pressure and protect the heart and other organs, fight off lung infections, and reduce inflammation. Unfortunately, cooking destroys one of the enzymes required to form allicin. This can be overcome by crushing garlic and keeping it aside for ten minutes while the chemical reaction takes place. Once allicin is formed, it is heat stable and can be safely cooked. Alternatively, some raw garlic can be added after cooking, to a dish that has cooked garlic in it.
4. Why not frying? Oil is a processed food, even if it is cold pressed oil. In whole nuts, the calories from the oil are balanced out with the fiber and nutrients in the nut. For example, peanuts are healthier than peanut oil, sesame seeds are healthier than sesame oil. Hence, a healthy diet excludes oil and includes whole nuts. We can easily achieve a 'fried' effect of different recipes by baking the same dishes instead, like this one!