Falafel with sweet chilli sauce

Another vegetarian recipe using garbanzos (chickpeas).

Falafel are little spicy balls or patties made from garbanzos and originate from Egypt and the Middle East.

These makes a lovely snack, but if you serve them with a big mixed salad and a low-carb flatbread (see recipe here), it turns into a substantial meal.

The sweet chilli sauce just adds a fabulous dimension to these little balls of deliciousness, and although it does contain sugar, there is not too much (unless you scarf down the whole lot!). I actually love these with both the chilli sauce and a spoonful of home-made garlic mayo – absolute heaven on a plate!

This recipe is much easier if you have a food processor. If not, you can chop and blend by hand and the mixture will be coarser, not that that is a bad thing.

To make

Put all the falafel ingredients, except the egg, salt and pepper and olive oil into a food processor and blend until the mixture is relatively smooth. Add the beaten egg a little at a time – you may not need all of it – until the mixture is smooth and holds together.

Check the seasoning and add sea salt and black pepper to taste.

Form into walnut-sized balls and place onto a tray or baking sheet, flattening them slightly. Chill in the fridge while you make the chilli sauce.

Chilli sauce

Put the chillies, sugar and vinegar into a small saucepan and place over a low heat until the sugar is completely dissolved.

Bring to the boil and simmer for about 5-7 minutes until the sauce is slightly thickened.

Pour into a heatproof bowl or jug.

The sauce will keep for many weeks in a jar in the fridge.

Pour enough olive oil into a frying pan to cover the bottom generously. Bring to a medium heat.

Add the falafel, a few at a time so you don't overcrowd the pan. Cook for about 2 minutes then flip them over to cook the other side. The outsides of the falafel should be crisp and golden brown. Continue with the remaining falafel.

Serve with a green salad, a good dollop of garlic mayo and a drizzle of sweet chilli sauce.

Ingredients serves 4

For the Falafel

250g garbanzos soaked and cooked – they need to be quite soft for falafel

1 medium red onion, roughly chopped

1 clove garlic, peeled

1-2 red chillies – depending on how hot you want these. If you don't want them too hot, just remove the seeds from the chillies.

1 ½ tsps ground cumin

1 ½ tsps ground coriander

1 tblsp lemon juice

1 handful fresh coriander leaves

1 egg, beaten

Sea salt and black pepper

Olive oil for frying

For the sweet chilli sauce

3 hot red chillies, finely chopped

150g sugar

150ml white or wine vinegar