Instead of chickpeas, this recipe uses lentils to make an Indian spiced falafel. Crispy on the outside, bursting with spice on the inside. Serve with mango chutney and/or raita to make it complete.
Indian Red Lentil Falafel
Servings
20 Servings
Ingredients
- 1 cup 200 g dried red lentils, picked through for stones and debris
- 1 small onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 4 tablespoons fresh coriander leaves cilantro
- 1 small green chili seeded and minced
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- Grapeseed oil for frying
- Mango Chutney or Raita for serving
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 small onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- One 1-in 2.5-cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated (about 1 tablespoon)
- 1 cup 250 ml white vinegar
- 3/4 cup 90 g brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 3 very ripe mangoes peeled, pitted, and roughly chopped
- 4 tablespoons raisins
- 2 cucumbers peeled and finely chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 2 cups 500 g plain whole-milk yogurt
- 2 tablespoons green onions scallions, trimmed and finely sliced
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Salt to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint for garnish
Instructions
- Wash the lentils in a bowl of cold water and keep changing the water until it runs clear. (This is very important or the lentils will get scummy.) Soak the lentils in fresh water for at least 2 hours. Drain and pat dry.
- Process the lentils, onion, garlic, fresh coriander leaves, chili, ginger, salt, and cumin in a food processor until thoroughly combined.
- Pour at least ½ in (1.25 cm) of oil into a large skillet and set it over medium high heat. Carefully drop the batter, 1 tablespoon at a time, into the oil, being careful not to crowd the pan, and fry for about 5 minutes on each side, or until golden. Work in batches if necessary. Use a wire mesh spider skimmer to transfer to paper towels to drain. Serve warm with the chutney or raita.
- Mango Chutney
- Heat the olive oil in a saucepan set over medium heat. Sauté the onion, garlic, and ginger, stirring occasionally, until softened.
- Stir in the vinegar, brown sugar, and red pepper flakes. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until the spices are fragrant.
- Add the chopped mango and raisins, reduce the heat and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, or until softened with consistency of a jam. Remove from the heat and allow it to cool before storing in a sealed jar.
- Raita
- Place the chopped cucumber in a colander, sprinkle with salt and let it stand for 15 minutes. Rinse with cold water and drain. Pat the cucumbers dry with paper towels.
- In the meantime, dry-roast the cumin seeds for about a minute, until they pop, in a small skillet set over medium-high heat. Watch carefully so they don’t burn. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- Combine the cucumber, yogurt, green onions, lemon juice, salt, and pepper in a medium-size bowl.
- To bruise the cumin seeds, place them on a work surface, place the blade of a large chef’s knife on top of them and press down on it with the heel of your hand to crush them lightly. Sprinkle the crushed seeds over the cucumber-yogurt mixture.
- Serve chilled, garnish with the mint.
Hi Rochelle and welcome!! We have an article on using a homemade falafel mix in different ways. It should work with a mix too http://www.joyofkosher.com/2013/12/homemade-dried-falafel-mix/
Hi im new to the site and came and had a look and knew straight away this is the site for me. Can anyone please help me, I have got some falafel mix and was wondering if anyone has some intresting ideas what to make with it besides the normal. Hopefully a recipe that works. Thankx so much
This is not a batter and actually because this is whizzed up in a food processor, it’s actually quite thick, and forms a paste like consitency.
That’s great…..thank you!
I want to try this but it looks like the ‘batter’ would need something to bind it…like breadcrumbs? I’ve made red lentils before and they stay pretty watery…