Falafel Kuku

Name: Falafel Kuku
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 can (15 oz/425 g) chickpeas, rinsed and drained; 1 small onion, quartered; 4 cloves garlic, chopped; ⅓ cup (80 g) tahini; 1 teaspoon sea salt; 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes; 1 tablespoon cumin seeds; 1 teaspoon ground coriander; ¼ cup (8 g) fresh parsley; ¼ cup (8 g) fresh cilantro; 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice; 1 tablespoon lemon zest; 6 eggs; 6 tablespoons (90 ml) olive oil, divided

Preparation info

Makes
4
servings

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Bitter & Sweet

By Omid Roustaei and Lauren Ko

Published 2025

About

I’ve always loved chickpeas in any form, my two favorites being crispy falafel and creamy hummus. This dish combines both of them into an Iranian favorite, kuku, resulting in what I call falafel kuku. The soft, creamy interior and delicate, crispy shell feature all the familiar flavors.

Ingredients

1 can (15 oz/425 g) chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1

Americas
Asia
United States
Iran
Main course
Gluten-free
Vegetarian

Method

Place all of the ingredients except the eggs and oil into a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped.

Grab a large mixing bowl and whisk the eggs. Add the chickpea mixture to the eggs, whisk well to combine, and set aside.

Heat a nonstick frying pan over medium heat before adding 4 tablespoons (60 ml) of the olive oil. Carefully but quickly pour the chickpea mixture into