Golden Turmeric Air Fryer Falafel

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This post for Golden Turmeric Air Fryer Falafel is going to be part recipe, part review! The folks at New Air Appliances were kind enough to send me an Avalon Bay Air Fryer 230-B for the purpose of this review. I also made Turmeric Cauliflower “Steaks” here and you’ll see a recipe for Eggplant Parmesan over on my sister site, The Veg Life! 

So you may notice that these falafel are golden in color and that is due to the turmeric. Turmeric has SO many health benefits and the taste is mild. Be sure to add that pinch of black pepper. Pepper contains a compound called piperine, which inhibits the metabolic breakdown of turmeric compounds in the gut and the liver. This allows higher levels of turmeric compounds to remain in the body (i.e., increases bioavailability), which may actually increase the positive effects of turmeric!

About the Avalon Bay Air Fryer 230-B…

I know I am kind of late to the Air Fryer game, but I can honestly tell you…I am in LOVE with this thing! Here are few key points I noticed right off with the Avalon Bay Air Fryer 230-B:

• It’s Quiet! You can barely hear it when it’s running.
• It’s well-made and super simple to use!
• LOVE the carrying handle.
• You can either use no oil, or a touch of oil. Either way, you get a great result!
• The air fryer is cool to the touch when frying.
• It’s dishwasher safe & really easy to clean!

You’ll notice it comes with a little round pan and also a rack. The basket pulls out with a handle and at the placement where your thumb goes on that handle, there is a release so that the basket separates from the drawer. The bottom drawer is where any excess oil or drippings collect.

There are just a few buttons on this digital model. Power on/off, increase or decrease time and/or temperature, the start button and some pre-set features. you’ll notice the little fan icon when it’s running and you can pull the drawer out at any time (without turning it off) to check on your food. Slide the drawer back in and it continues cooking. It really doesn’t get any easier than this!

Let’s make the Golden Turmeric Air Fryer Falafel!

I just love how these turned out! I think they are my new go-to falafel. The color is stunning, but just look at how consistently they cooked. A few golden edges here and there. The bottoms are golden brown. I served mine with a simple couscous tabbouleh. It’s couscous with cucumber, tomatoes, a bit of red onion or scallions and chickpeas (I just added what I had leftover from the falafel recipe).

I used garlic powder today, but if you have freshly minced garlic…that’s even better! You’ll also want to grab that turmeric and some tahini. This one is my favorite – nice and runny. Perfect as an ingredient or for drizzling!

What I love most about falafel is how easy they are to prepare. Everything goes into the food processor and in mere seconds, you are done.

I like mine with a bit of texture left in them.

I use this handy dandy ice cream scoop to make perfect, consistently-sized falafel. This recipe makes four falafel.

I scoop them first into my hands then form into patties before placing in the air fryer basket.

In an effort to reduce oil from my own personal diet, I found this amazing glass oil mister called Misto. You can get it on Amazon.

As I continue to edit my eating habits, I learn things I realize I never thought about before. For instance, did you know that non-stick sprays contain a propellant. Mmmmm…”I love eating propellant!” said no one. Ever.

How the Misto works…

This little gadget gets filled half way with oil (you can even add herbs to flavor the oil) and uses a pumping action to create pressure. Once you feel a bit of resistance on the pump, it sprays the finest mist onto your food. By the way, I tested the falafel both ways – with and without oil. Either way, they came out awesome!

Temperature settings for this recipe…

I started out with my temperature on the Avalon Bay Air Fryer at 370 degrees for about 15 minutes. What I am looking for is a fully cooked falafel with those bits of golden brown.

There we go! The perfect Golden Turmeric Falafel cooked in the air fryer. Interestingly, in the batch I tested with oil, I gave the basket (not the falafel) a light spray. You’ll notice, it’s all still there. Just wipe it up and not much, if any, made it into the food.

I whipped up a quick vegan yogurt-based tzatziki sauce. It’s simply a plain vegan yogurt (I prefer almondmilk), cucumbers, lemon juice, garlic, dill, salt, pepper and scallions. If it seems a bit thick, you can always add just a splash of almondmilk to thin it out.

I like to serve mine with the quinoa tabbouleh, a few lemon wedges and fresh parsley to garnish. I think you’ll really love this one!

Did you make this recipe for Golden Turmeric Air Fryer Falafel? Leave me a comment below and let me know what you thought!

And if you enjoyed this recipe, why not PIN IT FOR LATER! 🙂

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Golden Turmeric Air Fryer Falafel

Golden Turmeric Air Fryer Falafel

Course Main Course

Cuisine vegan

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Servings 4 falafel

Author Living Vegan Staff

Ingredients

FOR THE GOLDEN TURMERIC FALAFEL:

• 1 cup Canned Chickpeas drained and rinsed (reserve any leftovers for the Couscous Tabbouleh Salad)
• 2 Tbl Tahini
• 2 Tbl Onion diced
• 1/2 tsp Garlic minced (or garlic powder)
• 1/2 tsp Ground Cumin
• 1 tsp Ground Turmeric
• 2 tbsp Fresh Parsley
• 2 tbsp Lemon Juice
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 1/8 tsp Black Pepper

FOR THE VEGAN TZATZIKI DIPPING SAUCE:

• 1 container Vegan Almondmilk Yogurt
• 1/4 cup Cucumber diced
• 1 tsp Dill
• 2 tsp Lemon Juice
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• Garlic Powder to taste

FOR THE COUSCOUS TABBOULEH:

• 1 c Prepared Quinoa OR Couscous
• 2 tbsp Tomato diced
• 2 tbsp Cucumber diced
• 1 Green Onion/Scallion diced
• 2 tbsp Fresh Parsley
• 1/4 c Chickpeas that remain from the can used for Falafel
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Instructions

• Set the air fryer to 370 degrees (or if using an oven, preheat to 375 degrees).
• Combine falafel ingredients in food processor and pulse together until ingredients are coarsely chopped, but well-combined.
• OPTIONAL: Using a propellant-free cooking spray, give the air fryer basket a fine mist. No need to spray the falafel themselves. You can certainly do this without oil and/or in the oven on a lined baking sheet if you prefer.
• Using an ice cream scoop, form four balls and in your hands, shape into patties.
• Air fry (or bake) for about 15 minutes. I did not flip them, but you can about halfway through. The bottoms will be golden even if you don't flip. I just preferred not to for aesthetic purposes.
• While the falafel are air frying/baking, prepare the Tzatziki and Couscous Salad.
• Serve with a side of Tzatziki and Couscous Salad, a few lemon wedges and a sprig of fresh parsley.