🛒 Ingredients You’ll Need

For the falafel

• • 1 cup dried chickpeas

• • 1 small onion, roughly chopped

• • 3 garlic cloves

• • 1 cup fresh parsley

• • 1/2 cup fresh cilantro

• • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

• • 1 teaspoon ground coriander

• • 1/2 teaspoon paprika

• • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne, optional

• • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt

• • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

• • 1 teaspoon baking powder

• • 2 to 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour or chickpea flour

• • Oil for frying, or oil spray if baking or air frying

For the tahini sauce

• • 1/2 cup tahini

• • 2 to 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

• • 1 small garlic clove, finely grated or minced

• • 1/4 teaspoon salt

• • 4 to 6 tablespoons cold water, as needed

For serving

• • Warm pita

• • Chopped cucumber

• • Chopped tomatoes

• • Lettuce

• • Sliced red onion

• • Fresh parsley

• • Pickles, optional

🧾 Ingredient Notes That Actually Help

Use dried chickpeas, soaked overnight, not canned chickpeas. This is one of the biggest falafel make-or-break points. Canned chickpeas are too soft and usually lead to a mushier mixture.

Parsley and cilantro together give the best fresh, green flavor. If you are not a huge cilantro person, you can lean more heavily on parsley, but using both gives better balance.

A small amount of flour helps the mixture bind. Start with less and add more only if needed.

Tahini can vary a lot by brand. Some are smooth and loose, others are thick and stubborn. Add water slowly until the sauce loosens into a creamy drizzle. If you like tahini-based sauces and sides, this is also the kind of flavor that works beautifully with Orange & Tahini Piyaz.