From the grill & main dishes · The home kitchen
Falafel Platter
A falafel platter balances crisp chickpea fritters with tahini sauce, pickled turnips and fresh onion. Starting with soaked dried chickpeas produces a textured mixture that fries well. Small, slightly flattened falafel cook more evenly than large balls, and frying in batches keeps the oil hot enough for a crisp surface. This is a home-style interpretation of the menu idea, with measured ingredients and a method suited to an ordinary kitchen. It is not Beiruty’s proprietary restaurant formula. Read the complete method before starting, measure the ingredients first, and use the texture and temperature cues alongside the clock. The external guide offers another cook’s perspective; its seasoning and presentation may differ from this version.
A home-style recipe inspired by our menu. Restaurant preparation, portions and ingredients may differ.
Make it at home
Falafel Platter recipe
- Serves
- 4
- Prep
- 35 min
- Cook
- 25 min
- Rest / chill
- 750 min
- Total
- 810 min
Ingredients
- 250 g dried chickpeas, soaked in plenty of water for 12–18 hours
- 1 small onion, roughly chopped
- 3 garlic cloves
- 30 g parsley leaves
- 20 g cilantro leaves
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 3/4 tsp fine salt, divided
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp chickpea flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 750 ml neutral frying oil, or enough for 4 cm depth
- 60 g tahini
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 60 ml cold water
- 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
- 150 g pickled turnips
- 4 small pita breads
Method
Drain soaked chickpeas thoroughly and pat dry. Do not cook them. Pulse chickpeas, chopped onion, garlic, parsley, cilantro, cumin, coriander, 1/2 tsp salt and pepper in a processor until finely minced and cohesive, stopping before it becomes smooth hummus.
Stir in chickpea flour and baking powder. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Shape into 16 small flattened balls, pressing firmly; if too loose, pulse a little more rather than adding lots of flour.
Whisk tahini, lemon juice and remaining salt. Add cold water gradually until creamy and pourable. Set aside.
Heat oil in a deep heavy saucepan to 350°F/175°C, keeping the pan no more than half full. Fry one test falafel for 4–5 minutes, turning once. It should be deep golden with a hot, cooked, tender center. Adjust thickness if needed, then fry the remainder in small batches, maintaining oil temperature.
Drain on a rack. Serve four falafel per person with tahini sauce, sliced onion, pickled turnips and pita.
Make it your own.
- Canned chickpeas have the wrong texture for this particular recipe.
- Keep water away from hot frying oil.
- A test piece reveals whether the mixture needs finer processing before the full batch is fried.