Ingredients

• 1 cup McKenzie’s chickpeas
• ½ cup (115g) burghul
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 3 heaped Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 tsp McKenzie’s Baking Powder
• ¼ cup plain flour
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• ¼ tsp chilli powder
• 4 tsp lemon juice
• 2 tsp McKenzies Sea Salt, grinded to taste
• McKenzies Whole Black Peppercorn, grinded to taste
• Oil, for deep frying

Method

1. Soak chickpeas in 3 cups of water overnight. Drain.
2. Soak burghul in 1 cup of boiling water for 10 minutes and drain well.
3. Process chickpeas, burghul, garlic and parsley in a food processor to a coarse paste consistency.
4. Blend in baking powder, flour, coriander, cumin, chilli powder, lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. Moisten hands, shape mixture into walnut sized balls.
5. Place on a tray and leave aside for 30 minutes.
6. Deep fry 6-7 balls at a time in hot oil, cooking for approximately 5 minutes, until golden brown. Turn to brown evenly. Drain on paper towel and serve.

Notes

Serve with wholegrain wraps, hommus, lettuce and sliced tomato for a healthy lunch or light meal. Make a falafel salad by tossing together baby spinach leaves, fresh pomegranate seeds, falafel balls broken in half and cucumber slices topped with hommus thinned down to a sauce consistency using lemon juice or water. To make the falafel gluten free, substitute the burghul with ½ c LSA mix (linseeds, sunflower seeds, almonds) and 2 Tbsp water, and use gluten free plain flour. When Nutrition Australia unveiled its 'new and improved' healthy food pyramid earlier this year, legumes was the one food group that appeared twice! Rich in protein, carbohydrates, dietary fibre, minerals and vitamins, these healthy and cost effective vegetables should form part of a daily diet for both children and adults alike. These days, children obesity levels are rising and Australian kids are eating more foods high in fat and sugars. Cleverly incorporating legumes and other healthy vegetables into their daily diet is one way of improving overall health and wellbeing.