Name: Easy Peasy 20-Minute Green Falafel Curry
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 100 g (green) curry paste; 1 can coconut milk; 600 g veggies (I like to use zucchini, broccoli, peas, mushrooms, bok choy, carrots, ... whatever you have on hand)); 1 tbsp oil; 16 falafel ((premade e.g. from the store)); 2 spring onions; 1/2 cucumber; rice (to serve with)

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May sound a bit weird – I get you. Falafel and Curry? Is that really good? And let me tell you, oh my gosh, it is not good – it is heaven. This combination has rested undiscovered for way too long and now deserves all the attention. It is just super delicious. Imagine a veggie-packed, spicy and saucy curry with fluffy rice and then those crispy falafel that soak up all the sauce. How can you not get hungry?

This combination was more like a coincidence. I really badly wanted to make a curry since I haven’t had one in way too long. But I did not have any tofu, chickpeas or chicken or anything at home that I could add in. What I had were falafel. So I combined one and one and just decided to try this combo out and it was a very very good decision. Really, it is not too far off – you would also eat a curry with chickpeas! So why not with mashed and fried chickpeas?

What’s special about this dish?

First of all I want to apologize to all those from Thailand or Israel who feel offended by this combo, because this dish really is not than traditional. Usually curry would be eaten with some sort of fish, seafood, meat, vegetables, tofu or chickpeas. Rather something plain. Falafel on the other hand, are usually eaten in a pita, or with hummus or just as they are with a dip. Yeah, you can already see – quite different types of eating those two foods.

And special thing about this dish is that we are combining two cuisines – and two of the best foods/ dishes in the world to create a new one, even more flavorful, even more delicious one. What is more, this dish is everything else than complicated or difficult and is ready in 20 minutes, which is amazing if you want a quick lunch or an easy weeknight dinner.

Is this dish healthy?

Yup, definitely very nutritious. Curry really is one of the best ways to sneak in as many veggies as possible. And it really is a great way to clean out your fridge. (I used only green veggies for picture’s sake). If you have carrots left, throw in carrots, if you have zucchini or bell peppers or broccoli or frozen peas – into curry you can really add in any veggie you have and you like. And that also makes it very very nutritious. Depending on which veggies you choose, you get different vitamins and nutrients, but you in any case get a bunch of fibre and deliciousness!

Besides all the veggies, we cannot forget about the falafel. Are falafel healthy? I would say -ish. They are mainly made out of chickpeas and herbs. This way they are loaded with protein, fibre and nutrients, which makes them really nutritious. Yet, they are deep-fried, which makes them being loaded with fat. Fat is super essential and can definitely not be left out in a healthy diet, yet too much of it is not healthy either. So yep, I would say falafel are healthy in moderation. Plus, they are super tasty.

Which falafel are the best?

To make this dish as easy and quick as possible we are using pre-made falafel from the supermarket. This is just super convenient. Still, when you buy those, make sure the main ingredient really is chickpea and that they do not have a thousand additives. I love the ones from NENI (I buy them at SPAR) or you could also make homemade ones. I have a recipe for a version that’s a bit lighter and super easy to make! If you want to try them, you can find the recipe here!

How to make this (super tasty) dish?

As the title says, it’s easy peasy. We need to start by chopping the veggies. Then we mix the curry paste with a part of the coconut milk. Why do we do this? This helps them to combine. If you add the curry paste first and then only later on in the cooking process the coconut milk, there often stay lumps of curry paste in the curry, and we don’t want that. Then we heat up some oil in a pot and fry the coconut-curry mixture. The frying helps it really intensify the flavour.

Now the veggies are added and the remaining coconut milk. This just needs to simmer a bit until the veggies are soft. In the meantime we can prepare our side, something like rice, quinoa, naan or whatever you want. And, we must not forget about the falafel. Those need to be reheated in the oven so they get crispy and warm and fluffy again. Heating them up really is a game changer so don’t forget about that! And lastly, we only need to plate (or bowl) everything and that’s it.

As you can see, this is really simple to make, fairly healthy and soso delicious (I promise!). This really is perfect for short lunch breaks, exhausted evenings and just a quick family meal. I hope you really try this because you really should not miss out on this combo for longer and I genuinely hope that you’ll enjoy it!