Falafel

When I lived in Alexandria, I really fell in love with falafel, the Middle-East chickpea staple. It's full of flavour, versatility and nutrition. You've got protein from the chickpeas and then there's the immune system boost from the garlic and onion. Put it together with special hot sauce and a salad and then you've got a balanced meal packed full of vitamins and fibre too.

And it's dirt cheap!

You can eat this in many many different ways. I mean, it goes with many many different things. In terms of eating, you're generally going to use your mouth. In this version, I'm just letting it work alongside a simple salad (recipe to follow).

Cost (for falafels only): 0.30 zl per falafel (6 UK pence, 10 US cents, 0.53 Argentinian Pesos)

What you need for the falafel:

- 2-3 handfuls of dried chickpeas
- a good handful of chopped up spring onion (the green stem)
- 1-2 cloves of sliced garlic
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- a good amount of freshly milled black pepper

One word of warning before we begin: NEVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER use pre-cooked or canned chickpeas for this dish - they will disintegrate during the deep frying process. ONLY USE DRIED CHICKPEAS SOAKED OVERNIGHT.

Let's go!

1. Soak the chickpeas overnight or for at least 8 hours. Drain.

2. Add all the ingredients to a food processor.

3. Whizz up to a fairly coarse paste. You shouldn't need to add extra water. What you want is a pretty firm paste, not soggy. 

4. Here's an important step: PUT THE MIXTURE INTO THE FRIDGE FOR 30 MINUTES. This helps the binding process and helps the falafel stay together during the deep frying process.

5. Deep fry on a medium heat until golden brown.

6. Enjoy with salad, yoghurt and special hot sauce (see a previous posting for the recipe)

What this cost?

- chickpeas: 1.50 zl
- the rest: 1.50 zl

Total: 3 zl
Makes approximately 10 falafel
Per falafel: 0.30 zl