The emotional rollercoaster chickpea falafel fail that somehow became more than edible
Ingredient inspiration: parsley and chickpeas
In a forever quest to turn fried food into healthy foods, I once again bring you a tale of a failure, which actually ended up being more than edible (thankfully!). As you may already know, I’ve already failed spectacularly at this before. This time I also take you through my emotional rollercoaster in the kitchen, I dare you not to be amused.
First, I humbly invite you to join me in admiring my gorgeous ingredients (gifts from another weekly farm box). The bright fragrant parsley immediately inspired me to make falafels that I could wrap inside the mini naan (thanks Costco) along with some fixings like mint yogurt sauce (thanks Safeway), tomatoes, and spicy kohlrabi (new to me!). This dinner idea was making my mouth water. In fact, I give you a sneak peak to the end result below. Doesn’t it look scrumptious? Emotions are high!
Now, here is the story of how I somehow made it to that finished product, despite the unexpected and disappointing roadblock. I softened the unsoaked chickpeas in the instant pot for ~40 mins with natural pressure release. The parsley, garlic, and onion were chopped in the food processor, then the chickpeas along with salt, red pepper, coriander powder, cumin powder, oil, and lemon juice. I did a taste test and that mixture came out finger-licking-good. I was sooooo proud of myself because I was about to pull off a big winner in the kitchen, really, I thought I was a genius!
My satisfaction was pretty obvious:
I was dancing in the kitchen, twirling with the bowl
I ate nearly 10% of the chickpea mix in the course of such dance
Emotions are very very high!!
The bowl literally had to be pried out of my hands with a stern look from my partner. Emotions dropped a notch but are still high.
The events that come next shattered all of the above delusions of my extraordinary abilities when it comes to cooking (delusions in other areas of my life remain intact, not to worry). Since I was trying to make healthier versions of falafels, I decided to pan-fry them instead of deep frying them. I’m just not very comfortable with deep frying - it’s messy, it’s scary, it’s unhealthy, it’s wasteful - despite the results being delicious (I’ll happily let restaurants do this for me). I enthusiastically took a dough of the chickpea mixture, flattened it with my palms into a patty, and dropped it into the hot shallow layer of oil in a nonstick pan. Everything was going well, all according to my master plan. About 2 mins later, as the patty crumbled and bits began leaking out into the oil, so did my eyes (leaked) and mood (crumbled). Emotions are very very low.
As the patty cooked, bits continued to leak out, oil seeped in, it was all failing and becoming gross, visually and taste wise! And then the aha moment hit me = I did not have a binder in the mix! Falafels work because they get dunked deep into a super hot oil and the outside immediately cooks. However, this was shallow frying and the oil just wasn’t hitting this mix in the same way. How could I rescue this? I decided to use a universal binder in Indian cuisine = chickpea flour to add as a binder. I mixed half a cup or so into the rest of the mixture and attempted to shallow fry the patties again. They improved compared to the previous batch such that I was able to cook them fully, although it was definitely not how I had envisioned them turning out. Emotions are still low.
I also received Kohlrabi in my farm box. I actually didn’t know what it was but a quick google picture search made the introduction. And wow, what a delightful discovery! I tasted it raw (after peeling) and it turned out to be a crunchy buttery delicate bite with mild celery and pear flavors. I decided to make a simple spicy version to add to my wrap. Salt, sumac, red pepper, and lemon juice did the trick and the delicate kohlrabi turned into a crunchy flavor explosion. Emotions are improving.
I assembled the ‘falafel wraps’ by slightly toasting the naan in a pan, layering on the yogurt sauce, tomato, red onion, spicy kohlrabi, and then a pan-fried ‘falafel’ crown. The assembly process was strangely mood-lifting. Perhaps because despite the falafel failure, I knew some of the flavors would come together nicely enough for this dinner. Emotions are ok.
If I hadn’t just cooked this or gone through the emotional ordeal of this dish, I would find this falafel wrap to be quite inviting. With these mixed emotions, I took my plate to the dining table and took a bit out of my wrap (ok fine it’s more like a taco or a flatbread). Indeed, this bite wiped away some of the disappointment from my face. While not perfect, the flavorful (finger-licking-good) chickpea mixture along with the veggies and yogurt sauce came together in harmony for a good taste, flavor, texture, and overall mouthfeel. In some bites there was even a slight crunch from the falafel patty. Despite the ordeal of the evening, my disappointed mind and hungry tummy ended up being satisfied well enough, thanks to an edible disaster.
Emotions are in a good place.
Yes, I am that person who sometimes makes a graph of her emotions, below for your viewing pleasure / amusement / laughter at my expense.
Dish Debrief:
Is this my winner or disaster? edible disaster
How would I rate this dish out of 10? 6 out of 10
What would I change next time? gotta figure out how to keep them intact (more besan perhaps? another ingredient?)
Would I make this again? yes b/c I love chickpeas in all forms