Is there a way to make falafel without deep frying?

Question

I see in this video how the falafel balls are fully submerged in oil. Are there other ways (e.g. baking) to prepare the falafel balls after the balls are formed? Note: I do not ask for recipes.

score 9 · Accepted Answer · edited Apr 23 '12 at 22:47

Growing up, my mother always used to bake them. They do turn out a bit drier than if you deep-fried them, but not overmuch. They cook for about 15-20 minutes at 400°F (~200 °C), or until golden and crispy on the outside.

Alternately, you can pan-fry them, as other answers have suggested.

Or you can split the difference and oven fry them. If you're unfamiliar, Google can acquaint you with the process. Here's a good NPR article to get you started: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130673515

score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Mar 07 '12 at 17:16

You can pan fry them if you're careful (6-12mm oil). It helps to coat the balls with rye flour or similar before frying. Leave them alone to fry until the bottoms are nicely brown, then turn carefully w a metal spoon. If you have trouble with them breaking during the turning, you can flatten them from perfect ball shape a bit. However, that's best done as soon as you put them in the oil.

score 2 · Answer 3 · answered Mar 07 '12 at 17:17

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Just fry them in a pan with a few tablespoons of oil like you would meatballs, you won't get the same all round browning but it'll do.

answered Mar 07 '12 at 17:17

Stefano

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score 2 · Answer 4 · answered Apr 24 '12 at 16:28

We don't fry, pan-fry, or bake our falafels. Instead, we put them on a non-stick grill (same grill we use to make pancakes, etc.). I imagine that a non-stick frying pan would do the same.

We don't use any oil at all. Depending on your non-stick surface, you may need to spray it with PAM or something similar.

We get a fairly nice browning, but we end up with a shape of a round patty instead of a ball. We've found that refrigerating the dough for an hour prior to cooking helps a lot in making sure that the batter stays together. I haven't found them to be any dryer than when I am frying them. The recipe I used was by the Looneyspoons girls, in their new recipe book. It worked very well.

score 1 · Answer 5 · edited Mar 08 '12 at 17:07

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Falafel can be baked in the oven for about 20 minutes using few tablespoons of oil around 200°C (392°F). You should be careful when forming the balls not to make them too large. It is better to make them a little bit thin to make sure they are well cooked, and help prevent stomach aches. After baking or frying, you can use a paper towel to soak up the excess oil.

edited Mar 08 '12 at 17:07

mfg

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answered Mar 08 '12 at 09:32

Zeina

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score 0 · Answer 6 · answered Sep 08 '16 at 14:49

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lilghtly coated in rapeseed oil, or oil with high smoke point, and air fried

answered Sep 08 '16 at 14:49

niknak

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Is there a way to make falafel without deep frying?

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