Baked Indian Curry Spiced Falafel

Now I know to some people this will be an absolute crime against Middle Eastern cuisine, but in my eyes rules are meant to be broken and when the results are this good it’s totally worth it! 😉 I am a huge lover of falafel, and I’m a huge lover of curry and Indian food, so why not combine the two? A quick google search showed that clearly I seem to be the only (or one of the only) person crazy enough to mix these two cuisines, yet everyone I’ve made these for loves them and my family request them time and time again. So I guess it’s definitely about time these beauties appeared on here! If you don’t have all the spices needed that is fine; some like the cumin, turmeric, and ground coriander (maybe the curry powder too) I would consider essential, but add as many as you can to get that genuine curry flavour. Serves: 2, makes around 10-12 falafel

Ingredients:

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (don’t dry)
1 small red onion, roughly chopped
1 large clove garlic
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper/hot chili powder (adjust according to taste)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp curry powder
1-2 tsp sea salt
1-2 level tbsp flour (I usually use Gram flour but almost any will do)
Olive oil (optional)
 What to do:

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C
2. Place all the ingredients apart from the oil into a Vitamix or food processor (chickpeas at the bottom) and process/blend until almost smooth
3. Taste and adjust any seasoning to your liking
4. Pour a tiny amount of olive oil onto a small plate
5. Take 1 tbsp of the falafel mixture and roll into a ball. For a little extra crispiness on the outside roll in the olive oil to coat
6. Repeat this until all the mixture is gone and place all the falafel balls onto a baking tray lined with greaseproof/baking paper
7. Bake for around 20-25 minutes, making sure to turn them at least once
8. For optimum eating pleasure serve in romaine boats with huge dollops of hummus and chunky salsa (I like to use tomato, orange pepper, sweetcorn, cucumber, edamame, and avocado)