The Healthiest Fast Food

A Middle Eastern dish, whose homeland no one can pinpoint. The Egyptians claim that this is their invention, and they sell it on the street “just like that” - without pita, tahini and salads, they make it almost the size of a palm, slightly flattened, and not only from chickpeas, but from any beans. Egyptian falafel has a lot of greenery, so it's a little green on the inside. In Israel, a popular song of the 50s claimed that it was falafel that was the national Jewish dish, and the first falafel was founded here by immigrants from Yemen. Not otherwise, as these musically gifted people and composed this song as an advertisement. However, falafel does not need advertising. This is perhaps the only healthy "fast food". Well, if you make it at home - this is a great lunch, a classic dish that is served even on a holiday, including Israel's Independence Day, in the late afternoon, because during the day all of Israel goes to nature to make barbecue.

Ingredients

• 1 1/3 cups chickpeas
• 4 tbsp. l. finely ground bulgur
• 1 large onion
• 5 cloves of garlic
• 4 stalks of parsley
• 4 stalks of cilantro
• 3-4 tbsp. l. chickpea flour
• 2 tbsp. l. ground coriander
• 2 tbsp. l. ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp ground sweet paprika
• 2 boxes of cardamom
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• vegetable oil for deep frying

Directions

1. Pour 1 liter of chickpeas with drinking water for at least 4 hours, and preferably overnight, the peas should swell strongly and become soft.
2. Peel and chop the onion and garlic. Chop the greens. Remove the seeds from the cardamom pods and crush them in a mortar.
3. Drain the peas and grind them in a food processor along with onions, garlic, herbs, flour, baking powder, salt and spices. If the mass is too dry, add 2-3 tbsp. l. water.
4. Put the mixture in a bowl and let stand in a cool place for 45 minutes. Use wet hands to form 20 walnut-sized balls.
5. Heat the oil and deep-fry the falafels in batches, 3-4 minutes each, until the ball is browned all over.