Does anyone in Chicago serve baked falafel?

Everything fried is better, I know. But I'm trying to eat a little healthier these days (ok, so my doctor is making me). Middle Eastern food is right up my alley, and I particularly love falafel. The problem is the frying oil (too often vegetable which is horrible, but even if fried in olive oil it's too much). So who in Chicago (I live in Lincoln Square so hopefully someone on Kedzie, but Skokie and Lincolnwood are close enough) serves baked falafel? Anyone?

Everything else in the Falafel is so healthy, isn't a little frying oil OK? Baked Falafel just sounds unappetizing - hard dry chickpea balls.

How about a veggie platter? Stuffed Grape leaves, Baba Ganoush, Falafel, Tabouli salad, some pita bread. Its pretty much all healthy fresh vegetables. I order that quite frequently at places like Pita Inn, Kan Zaman, Oasis, Old Jerusalem, etc.

The average falafel is only around 57 calories with 3g fat. Not too bad at all, so continue to enjoy!

wak wrote:Everything else in the Falafel is so healthy, isn't a little frying oil OK?

And if they're fried properly in oil of appropriate temperature, they will barely absorb any oil at all.

Hey BR, probably not much use to you, but...

The cafeteria at where I work (in Schaumburg with no other options in walking distance) serves baked falafel balls for lunch sometimes. They're absolutely disgusting. Kind of like dried up, hardened hummus. It's probably a good thing it's not available to the general public.

MJ

Thanks all for the responses. The fat itself is not too high, but some places fry in vegetable oil which significantly increases both the saturated fat and cholesterol (the things I'm trying to avoid). I could tolerate some olive oil because in moderation, it is actually good for you. In any event, I have had baked falafel and when done right (viewtopic.php?p=153746#p153746), it can be very tasty. In any event, I'd prefer to find baked falafel so that I can still find room to enjoy my favorite foods . . . all things pork (belly, ribs, skin) and foie gras.

One of these days, I'm going to mix up a falafel batter with some oil in it... and make falafel waffles.
Really. I mean it.

JoelF wrote:One of these days, I'm going to mix up a falafel batter with some oil in it... and make falafel waffles.
Really. I mean it.

What about falafel pizelles?

BR wrote:Thanks all for the responses. The fat itself is not too high, but some places fry in vegetable oil which significantly increases both the saturated fat and cholesterol (the things I'm trying to avoid). I could tolerate some olive oil because in moderation, it is actually good for you. In any event, I have had baked falafel and when done right (viewtopic.php?p=153746#p153746), it can be very tasty. In any event, I'd prefer to find baked falafel so that I can still find room to enjoy my favorite foods . . . all things pork (belly, ribs, skin) and foie gras.

You generally don't find cholesterol in vegetables.

If they fry in oil, like canola or safflower/sunflower, as opposed to hydrogenated fat like crisco, then it's not too bad. Granted, you don't want tons of it, but a falafel here and there is probably OK.

Check out
http://www.healthcastle.com/cooking-oils.shtml

Not 10 minutes ago I finished the lunch special from Pita Inn (Skokie) that, for $4.95, had broiled chicken tenders, shawarma, kefta kebab, shish kebab, rice, salad, pita, and yes, one falafel. Falafel is perfect--that aromatic flavor when it's bitten into, you almost wish there was a cologne with that odor. (There probably is, but it's only worn by the Pita Inn workers!)

I agree that baked falafel would be doing a grave disservice to our friend the chickpea. I say....either MASH it (hummos) or FRY it. Nothing in between will do!

You know, I was just wondering about this, myself - not as it pertains to falafel, but regarding my frybread recipe (frybread being an icon in the food/health controversy) The recipe, pre-frying, contains no fat at all (there are many frybread recipes that include cut-in shortening, but this one didn't) So how fatty are the resulting lovely breads?

I can't answer specifically, but at least this article offers some is scientific evidence to support the idea that you're gaining between 2 and 6 grams of fat for every 100 grams of food. I'd imagine this can range wildly depending on the heat of the oil, surface area, and other factors, but it's a good guesstimate.

However, many of the falafel "mixes" aren't too bad (especially if you add fresh parsley) and offer directions to bake them.