Why did I say 'Easy enough'?
Well, because the dish is very easy to make, however, it is quite some work when you don't have proper kitchen equipment to work with.
As we're in a rented apartment, with borrowed stuff for now, the only thing we have here to produce about anything, is a blender that only does a half-ass job haha.
It's on my list to get a proper one.
But for you, with proper materials, it should be easy, period.

This was the very first time I made the dish here. The falafel fell apart a bit but still tasted great!

The dish

I used to like cooking a lot, until a few years ago. Then things changed. I'm not sure where and when but it did.
I'd walk into the grocery store with a 'meh' feeling, walking around constantly mumbling 'meh', thinking of what to make that day, and then think: 'meh'...You get the drift. Yeah, if people would have heard my 'mehs' out loud, they'd probably think I was crazy. Which I couldn't blame them for either. I pretty much was at that time...

There wasn't much variety of things to be found in the stores, which made it even harder, and more 'meh'.

When we were about to move to Mexico, my eldest daughter resolutely exclaimed: "When we get to Mexico, we're going to live a more healthy life!"
And I wholeheartedly agreed by saying:
"Yes, why don't we go full on raw vegan, and only fill the fridge with fruit and vegetables?"
It'd make my life so much easier, and it's just much easier to buy stuff for that.
No more cooking! YAY!
I was excited.

But when we came here, disappointment set in.
There weren't many markets where they were selling fruit and vegetables.
Not like in Thailand or most of Sout-East Asia, where you would find market stalls pretty much at every turn.
Not even like what I knew from St. Martin, where I'd go out for my pre-breakfast walk, and get a liter (!) of Mango juice for 2 dollar.
That was my breakfast back then.

Yeah, you can find things here but not such great varieties, and not very cheap either.
Not all, anyway.
Oranges are dirt cheap. Good thing we all love oranges, and they're the best in the world here. For sure...

Anyway, back to the subject...
There are a few things I don't mind making and the kids all love them. So right now, it's something I make at least once a week.
It's more of the 'snack food' kind but it's not the most unhealthy form, and it's very filling.
I make huge stacks and it always disappears...

In traditional recipes for falafel, they usually ask for dried chickpeas, which are then soaked in water overnight, then drained, dried off, and then mashed up in the blender.
I think this is a crazy rule they made...
It makes the falafel much drier, plus it takes much longer to make. Therefore I use canned chickpeas. Organic preferably.

So here's the recipe (yields 6):

For the Falafel:

6 cans of chickpeas -you can use 4 cans if you're planning to eat them with pita bread. We usually don't, so we use 6. Yeah, we're pigs...
And, of course, adjust it a bit if there are less than 6 people in your household. But the falafel is quite easy to freeze for later too!

1 Tablespoon of whole cumin or powdered if you prefer

2 small onions or 1 large one, cut into small pieces

2-3 cloves of garlic

1 cup of coriander (cilantro), preferably fresh, finely cut.

Corn flour (maizena)

Pepper & Salt (just a little because the chickpeas will be quite salty already)

(Olive) oil

For the Garlic Sauce:

4-6 cloves of Garlic (this is to taste. Go nuts if you like. In my house, there can never be too much garlic but you might like the sauce a bit milder)

(Vegan) Mayonnaise

Sour Cream or Water if you want to keep it vegan.

Some fresh coriander, cut finely.

For the Green Salsa:

Green tomatoes (I used 4)
Coriander 1 cup, finely chopped
2 Limes

Preparation

Chop the chickpeas in the blender, or whatever kitchen thing you have for the purpose. I never really mind when there's a few whole chickpeas left in the mix and the kids like it too.
But it's up to individual taste.

This is what they look like once formed into balls

Put the chickpeas in a large bowl, add the chopped onions, coriander and garlic, as well as the cumin.
Mix it all well with a large spoon.
Add corn flour little by little, until you can form small balls that don't stick to your hands, and are dry to the touch.

Fry in olive oil in a shallow frying pan.
Some prefer to fry it in a fryer, but we like it this way.
Seems a bit healthier too hehe.

I had the fire a bit too high, so the first batch was a bit on the darker side...The rest was fine!

• For the garlic sauce, mix mayonnaise, water and/or sour cream and blend. Make sure it's not too watery but easy enough to pour.
• then blend in the garlic and coriander.

• For the green salsa:
• Chop the green tomatoes in smaller pieces
• then put them in the blender together with the coriander and lime juice. Mix well.
  Add habanero or other spicy sauce, or fresh spicy peppers to taste.

this is my green salsa with a different dish the next day, as I had leftover salsa

That was it!

Easy enough right? ;)