Chickpea falafel in air fryer

Falafel in the air fryer: the recipe for oriental vegetarian chickpea meatballs, tasty and ready in a few minutes.

A typical Arab dish, falafel are delicious vegetarian legume meatballs appreciated all over the world. Made from broad beans, chickpeas or chopped beans, they are seasoned with onion, sumac (a bright red sweet and sour spice), garlic, cumin, coriander and fried in peanut oil, which increases their flavor but makes them dangerously high in calories . Today, we offer you the recipe for chickpea falafel in the air fryer. Compared to the original preparation , you will get golden and crunchy meatballs on the outside but very tender and rich in flavor on the inside. Plus, they will be low in fat! Let's see how to make falafel in the air fryer.

Preparing falafel in the air fryer

1. Drain the chickpeas and pour them into the mixer bowl.
2. Add the onion, the garlic clove and the spices, excluding the parsley to be added later to the sesame seeds.
3. Blend the ingredients until they have a creamy consistency, but still workable with your hands.
4. Transfer to a bowl and start forming meatballs.
5. Place the falafel on a plate lined with baking paper and leave to rest in the refrigerator for at least an hour. To avoid altering the flavor and aroma of the meatballs, cover them with food-grade aluminum foil or cling film.
6. Place the falafel in the air fryer basket, being careful not to overlap.
7. Cook at 200°C for 10 minutes , making sure to turn the meatballs at least twice. We would like to point out that depending on the type of appliance in use, cooking times may vary (extending a few minutes or even reducing to 8 minutes in total) therefore we recommend checking the dish often .
8. Add a few drops of extra virgin olive oil only halfway through cooking to make the meatballs crispier; otherwise, you can very well do without it. The result will be equally spectacular.
9. Serve still hot , or at most lukewarm, alone with fresh chopped parsley or accompanied by some sauce.

For a crunchier version , try dipping them first in sesame seeds and then in breadcrumbs.

storage

Chickpea falafel in the air fryer should be enjoyed on the spot. Once cooked they cannot be stored because they would lose their original consistency and crunchiness. If you prefer, you can prepare them in advance and leave them in the refrigerator still raw for no more than 4 days .