These delicious chickpea fritters are fluffy, slightly spicy, and aromatic. The plant-based fritters with chickpeas abound in the Greek islands and are served here with a tahini lemon yogurt sauce.
Why this recipe sings
These chickpea fritters are very tasty, healthy, and low-calorie. Ideal for any time of the day, they can be a snack, lunch or dinner, or even a delicious appetizer. They are crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. They don't require much frying so the fresh herbs and veggies retain their unique lovely aroma.
For an extra punch of flavor the fritters are served with a terrific yogurt sauce with tahini and lemon.
Here is what you need for the fritters
- Chickpeas. I use already cooked chickpeas. You can get canned, rince chickpeas very well, drain and use. You can also use dry chickpeas, soaked for 24 hours. You can find the soaking method in recipe card). I prefer the already cooked version for faster result and better digestion. Chickpeas and other beans can be hard to digest for some people (I am one of them).
- Potatoes. Boiled in their skin and then the flesh is mashed and mixed with the ground chickpeas.
- Onion and scallions. Using both adds diffrent layers of flavor.
- Fresh mint, parsley and sage. Each fresh herb adds freshness and brightness.
- Sea salt, freshly ground pepper, chili flakes and ground cumin and . The fisrt three for flavor,and heat . Ground cumin is a favorite for a warm, earthy and slightly citrusy note in this recipe.
- All purpose flour for coating the fritters. For a little crunch.
- Olive oil. For frying. You can also use sunflower oil.
Detailed measurements and instructions can be found on the recipe card at the bottom of the page.
Here is what you need for the tahini lemon yogurt sauce
This fantastic yogurt tahini sauce is inspired by a recipe of one of my favorite chefs and cookbook authors Yotam Ottolenghi.
- Tahini. Tahini is a smooth, creamy sauce made of toasted sesame seeds, oil and sometimes salt.
- Greek yogurt. I prefer a full fat yogurt but 2% works just as well.
- Lemon juice.
- Extra virgin olive oil.
- Garlic.
- Sea salt.
Detailed measurements for this sauce can be found on the recipe card at the bottom of the page.
Step by step chickpea fritters
Wash potatoes very well and add them whole with skin to a stockpot. Fill the stockpot with enough water to cover the potatoes and place on medium-high heat. Boil potatoes until soft. When done, remove potatoes from the water and set them aside to cool a little. When they are cool enough to handle, peel the potatoes, add them to a bowl, and mash with a fork or masher.
Add the chickpeas to a food processor or blender. Pulse chickpeas a few times. to create a semi fine grain. It's ok if you have bigger chunks between more refined ground pieces.
Add the chickpeas, mashed potatoes, chopped herbs, cumin, chili flakes, sea salt, and pepper in a large bowl, and mix well.
Add half a cup of all-purpose flour to a plate.
Take a full tablespoon of the mixture and shape it into a small ball, then press it down with your hand to flatten it a bit.
Roll each fritter into the flour. Shake it between your hands to remove the excess flour—place fritters on a separate dish. Repeat the process with the rest of the mixture.
Add oil to a skillet and heat oil in medium-high heat.
Fry the chickpea fritters in hot oil until they turn golden brown on all sides, about 1.5 to 2 minutes per side.
Remove fritters in a wire rack to drain extra oil.
Tips and suggestions
- When I am in a hurry, I grind the chickpeas and mash the potatoes as quickly as possible and am not so precise. Sure, the patties might feel looser and less staying together, but the extra thicker pieces that might stay on the sides of the fritters will be crispy and so good when fried. Basically, there is no wrong method when making these. You can shape perfectly round patties or be creative. Flatten them, create irregular shapes or into a football shape. All is good. The whole point is to have fun while creating delicious food.
- Serve these with the yogurt tahini sauce and a caramelized onion chutney. It is a great combination that we enjoy often. The sharp, savory garlicky sauce goes so well with the fritters and a touch of the chutney.
Check out my Greek pantry staples
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Greek Chickpea Fritters And Tahini Lemon Yogurt Sauce
Equipment
- Food processor or blender
- Large bowl
- Stockpot
- Skillet
Ingredients
- 1½ cups canned chickpeas Washed and drained. Or 250 grams of dry chickpeas, soaked for 24 hours.
- 2 potatoes washed with skin, uncut.
- 1 onion small diced
- 2 scallions thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons mint chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped. You can also use fresh cilantro.
- 1 tablespoon fresh sage finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ⅔ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon chili flakes
You will also need
- olive oil or sunflower oil for frying
- freshly ground pepper
- all-purpose flour for coating the fritters
For the yogurt tahini sauce
- 1 cup Greek yogurt
- ½ cup lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 2 tablespoons tahini
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
Prepare the potatoes.
- Wash the potatoes very well and add them to a stockpot. Please don't cut them. Fill the stockpot with enough water to cover the potatoes and place on medium-high heat. Boil potatoes until soft. When done, remove potatoes from the water and set them aside to cool a little.When they are cool enough to handle, peel the potatoes, add them to a bowl, and mash with a fork or masher.
Prepare the chickpeas.
- Add the chickpeas to a food processor or blender. Pulse chickpeas a few times. Don't overprocess. It's ok if you have bigger chunks between more refined ground pieces.
Prepare the chickpea fritter mixture.
- Add the chickpeas, mashed potatoes, chopped mint, parsley and sage, cumin, chili flakes, sea salt, and pepper in a large bowl, and mix well.
- Add ½ cup of all-purpose flour to a plate.
- Take a full tablespoon of the mixture and shape it into a small ball, then press it down with your hand to flatten it.
- Roll each fritter into the flour mix. Shake it between your hands to remove the excess flour—place fritters on a separate dish. Repeat the process with the rest of the mixture.
Time to fry.
- Add ⅓ cup light olive oil or sunflower oil to a skillet—heat oil in medium-high heat.
- Fry chickpea fritters in hot oil until they turn golden brown on all sides, about 1.5 to 2 minutes per side.
- Remove fritters in a wire rack to drain extra oil.
Make the tahini lemon yogurt sauce.
- Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine. Adjust the sauce to taste if necessary. You can add more lemon juice or some of the tahini liquid to loosen up the sauce. If two cloves of garlic is too much for you start with one, taste, and see if you would like to add more.Set aside at room temperature if using soon, or refrigerate if making ahead.
Serve.
- Serve immediately with tahini yogurt sauce or tzatziki, cut up tomatoes and cucumbers, and grilled pita bread.
Dry chickpeas soaking method.
- Place the chickpeas in a bowl and add enough water to cover by 2 inches. Cover and soak overnight.Transfer the chickpeas to a large bowl and wash with three or four changes of cold water. While washing, agitate the beans vigorously between your hands to release the skins, which will float easily away. The chickpeas are ready for use.
Notes
- If using the dry chickpeas, I suggest you grind the chickpeas in the food processor until they are a semi-fine grain. Don't let too big, more significant pieces in the mix; With this method, please don't make the patties too big; they won't cook through.
- The potatoes boil in their skin without cutting them. It takes longer to cook, but they don't absorb much water. Leaving them whole allows the flesh to bind with the other ingredients in the chickpea mixture and not be watery.
- Removing the tough skins from the chickpeas results in a smoother fritter mixture.
- It is perfectly ok to have more significant pieces of potatoes or /and chickpeas in the mixture. When in a hurry, I grind the chickpeas and mash the potatoes as quickly as possible and am not precise. The patties might feel looser and the ingredients less binding together, but the extra thicker pieces on the sides are crispy and lovely when fried. There is no wrong method when making these. You can shape them perfectly or be creative. Flatten them, create an irregular shape or make them into a football shape. All is good.
- You can place the wire rack on a baking sheet and then into a warm oven (80°c / 170° F) to keep fritters warm while you finish cooking.
- Store yogurt sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days
Nutrition
