Baked Falafel?

[cresyd]

Properly fried falafel is one of my favorite Middle East fast food grabs. However, I'm loath to fry at home. Is there a way to either lightly pan fry or bake falafel and still end up with a good product?

[Kagey]

I pan fry my felafel and it's quite good. For me it's more about the flavors in the mixture than the frying. You can get a good crust and have it still soft in the middle when you pan fry it. It's just flatter.

[chowser]

I've sprayed patties w/ olive oil and baked. It's good. Not as good as fried but it works.

[DiveFan]

Falafel is one of the few things that I deep fry, Only because it takes just a small amount oil in my big WOK!
Seriously, if you don't have one already get a proper carbon steel wok (WITHOUT a flat bottom).
Back to topic :-), pan frying works well and baking Should if you make the falafels into flat patties rather than balls. I've also found that sticking is reduced if you cover both sides with sesame seeds.

[Miss Needle]

My mom used to pan-fry her falafel and it was pretty good. And there's a restaurant called Pump in NYC that sells baked falafel. Not as good as pan-fried, but it's edible. I would probably spray some oil on it before baking it though.

[Ali]

I've made falafel patties and pan fried them before. Is it as good as a proper deep fry? No. A not at all terrible substitute? Yes.