How to make vegetarian falafel curry

Cooktop Cove: How to make vegetarian falafel curry

By Emily Monaco

The recipe below takes fusion food to a whole new level. The rich, spicy flavors of Indian curry meet the earthiness of Middle Eastern falafel in a dish that may astound more traditional cooks, but one bite, and you'll be convinced.

To make this dish, you'll first need to make falafel before simmering them in the sauce. It's true that if you make the whole dish on the same day, this might be a bit time consuming, but the good news is that it's easy to prep in advance. Both the falafel and the curry sauce can be made ahead of time and frozen. Consider making a big batch of falafel and freezing them to enjoy in myriad ways.

Falafel Curry

20 minutes

40 minutes

1 hour

1 1/2 cups dried chickpeas, soaked in cold water overnight and drained

1 onion, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 bunch fresh parsley

1/4 bunch fresh cilantro

2/3 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons ghee or butter

2 onions, minced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon garam masala

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or to taste)

3 cups tomato passata

1/3 cup heavy cream

1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Place the chickpeas, onion, garlic, cumin, salt, coriander, turmeric, black pepper, parsley and cilantro in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse, drizzling in the oil, until the mixture is homogenous but still slightly chunky.

Remove from the food processor and form into individual balls. You should have about 20.

Place on a baking sheet and bake for about 20 minutes, turning once so that they become evenly golden brown. Set aside.

Heat the ghee or butter in a pan, and add the onions. Sauté for about 57 minutes, until translucent, then add the garlic, garam masala and cayenne pepper. Cook until fragrant, about 1 minute, then add the passata.

Bring to a simmer and cook for about 510 minutes, or until slightly thickened. Add the cream, season to taste with salt, and stir well to combine. Add the falafel and cook for another 5 minutes, until just heated through. Serve alone or over rice.