Over the last years, after several unsuccessful attempts to cook falafel at home and also after some very unhappy experiences in the Arabic restaurants in Bucharest - I gave up the idea. I said it was probably not my cup of tea and that was that. All the chickpea balls I've tried were hard to swallow, too dry or with a funny taste.
That was until I tasted falafel last summer in Egypt, exemplary cooked. I even noticed the texture of the chickpea paste and how the chef quickly shaped them and fried them in oil. I never imagined that these chickpea balls, or falafel, could taste so good, be crispy on the outside, but fluffy and fragrant on the inside. So, I definitely recommend them, as long as you follow all the directions for a maximum of tastiness and a special result. Falafel should be served in Homemade Pita Bread - with yogurt, tahini sauce, fresh or cooked vegetables. Another option would be falafel on a plate, with the same ingredients, but not inside the pita.
The biggest challenge and inconvenience is to grind as finely as possible the soaked raw chickpeas and the herbs. I used the food processor with the S-blade attachment, then the meat grinder, and the hand blender too, at the end. If you leave the chickpea paste too coarse, you will feel the taste of raw chickpeas, which is not very annoying, but still, we want a finer texture.
The good part is that you can prepare more chickpea paste, then freeze some of it. Whenever you have a craving, you don't need to do the whole work again, the soaking, the mashing etc.
And, because falafel balls are recommended to be served hot, immediately after cooking, it's better not to fry a large amount of them, just as much as you need for a meal. We had a few left, we reheated them in the pan or in the microwave - they were good, but they lost a little of their crispiness.
