Falafel the Raw Food Way
I love food. I love flavor. I love falafel! There is a great little restaurant in Boulder where you can order your falafel and choose from all kinds of sides to put with them. It is quick, yummy and there is a wonderful outside patio where you can sit, eat and watch the traffic on Pearl Street go by. Desperate for a raw food recipe that recreates these tasty little favorites, I sprouted chickpeas and got to work. Paired with a raw recipe for “sour cream” and a mango salsa, this raw food recipe completely hits the spot!
Chickpeas or Garbanzo Beans are a great way to add a complete protein to your raw food diet. They are full of fiber and trace minerals. They are low glycemic and are a good source of iron.
Falafel with Mango Pineapple Salsa
Falafel
- 3 cups Sprouted Garbanzo Beans (chick peas)
- 1 cup Chopped Onion
- 2 Cloves Garlic
- 1 cup Sunflower Seeds
- 1/2 cup Ground Flax Seeds
- 1/4 cup Lemon Juice
- 1/4 cup Parsley
- 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
- 2 teaspoons Coriander
- 3 teaspoons Cumin
- 1 tablespoon Nama Shoyu
- Alfalfa sprouts (for serving)
- Sprout Garbanzo Beans. Place 2 cups dry beans in a jar, cover with water and let soak for 24 hours. Make sure there is plenty of room in the jar as these will expand quite a bit. Drain off water and rinse 3 times a day until little sprouts appear. Usually 2-3 days.
- Place sunflower seeds in food processor and grind until fine. Place ground sunflower seeds in large bowl.
- With food processor running, drop 2 cloves of garlic in. Let run until garlic has been chopped.
- Place sprouted garbanzo beans in food processor with garlic. Process until a mash is achieved. Remove to bowl with sunflower seeds.
- Chop onion in food processor, pulsing until a very fine chop in achieved. Place in bowl with garbanzo bean mixture.
- Chop parsley and add along with remaining ingredients to bean mixture. Combine well.
- Shape into golf sized balls and dehydrate, beginning at 140 degrees for 1 hour and then reducing heat to 116 for 4 to 6 hours. You will want to check as they dehydrate. They should be crispy on the outside but still a little soft on the inside. Information on dehydrating can be found here: Dehydration for Raw Foods
Mango Pineapple Salsa
- 1 cup Chopped Pineapple
- 1 cup Chopped Mango
- 1 cup Chopped Jicama
- 1/2 cup Chopped Onion
- 3 tablespoons Finely Chopped Cilantro
- 1 Lime (juice from)
- Mix all ingredients together. Let sit to marinate.
Sour Cream
- 1/4 cup Cashews (soaked for at least 2 hours)
- 1 Young Coconut (flesh from – about 3/4 Cup)
- 2 tablespoons Lemon Juice
- pinch sea salt
- Combine all ingredients in blender until smooth. Can add water to thin out if needed.
To Serve
- Create a bed of alfalfa sprouts, place falafel on top of the sprouts. Top with “sour cream” and serve with salsa.
Jessie R wrote on April 5, 2010
Susan,
I made this last night and it was AMAZING!!!My huband and I LOVED it. So far its our favorite dish.. Thank you so much for sharing your talent.
Jessie R
carrie wrote on March 18, 2010
these look amazing!!! I can’t seem to ever get my chick peas to sprout, though. This recipe makes me want to try it again!!!
Svetla Zibin wrote on March 16, 2010
Those are awesome, taste much better than regular falafels! Love your recepies
Catherine wrote on March 15, 2010
Oh my! Oh my! I made the falafels and they turned out great!!! My husband even loves them! I did add a bit more cumin and coriander to mine and a pinch of sea salt for taste, but over all it was wonderful. I also did my own take on a mango salsa that had tomatoes in it and it was all good. Thanks so much for the recipe!!!!!!
Maurie Kirschner wrote on March 2, 2010
Love falafel and this recipe sounds really interesting. I too have been wanting to know a substitute for young coconut. I live in Seattle, a large city with plenty of natural food and specialty food stores but I have yet to find organic young coconuts, and that’s the only way I would buy them. This keeps a lot of raw recipes out of reach. I look forward to trying this recipe without the cream, though – I think it will still be yummy.
jess gonacha swift wrote on March 1, 2010
Falafel is one of my favorite foods ever. I’ll have to try this version. AND, I grew up in Boulder! I’ve been missing it a lot lately, so it was nice to have the reminder of Pearl Street this morning. 🙂
Melissa wrote on February 28, 2010
Susan these look awesome! The cooked falafels are just so greasy and so these look like a much better alternative:) Thank you for sharing!
Elena Lipson wrote on February 28, 2010
Well done!!! I am totally getting a dehydrator for my b-day!!! Then 100% raw for me 😉