Top 6 Sauces to Pair with Your Falafel!
Falafel is a popular Middle Eastern dish that’s super easy to make, but it does take a little bit of work to get it just right.
That’s okay though, because falafel isn’t difficult if you’re just making it at home! All you have to do is find the right balance of moisture and fat, and the right flavors and spices to go with it. The good news is that falafel is delicious no matter which sauce you put with it! Here are 5 of our favorite sauces to pair with falafel:
- Hummus
- Tahini
- Yogurt Sauce
- Cucumber Yogurt and Mint Sauce
- Tzatziki Sauce
- Baba Ganouj and Yogurt
Hummus
Hummus is the archetypal Middle Eastern dip. It’s made out of chickpeas and is served with a number of Middle Eastern dishes. But, we will always start with falafel before moving on to other dishes. Hummus is the perfect partner to falafel because of how they both taste with the chickpeas. Roasted chickpeas pair well with hummus because they add a little more depth to its more neutral taste. If you have a more intense, earthy taste in your mouth, a hummus paired with roasted chickpeas will just enhance that taste.
Tahini
Tahini is the classic Middle Eastern condiment. It’s made out of ground sesame seeds, and is often used as a dip or a sauce. Tahini is often paired with falafel because sesame seeds provide the perfect compliment to falafel. They add a little bit of a nutty taste to falafel while also bringing out the falafel’s chickpeas taste. This can be especially visible when you drizzle tahini on top of a falafel salad.
Yogurt Sauce
Yogurt sauce is the perfect partner to any Middle Eastern dish. It’s made out of yogurt and fresh herbs, and is often served with falafel because of how the herbs bring out the flavors in the chickpeas. However, yogurt sauce is so versatile that it can be paired with other meals. When you drizzle it over a salad, it can bring out the flavors in the other ingredients and make the salad more exciting. When you drizzle it on a sandwich, it can also become a compliment to the other ingredients in the sandwich.
Cucumber Yogurt and Mint Sauce
Falafel and cucumber yogurt are a match made in heaven. Cucumber yogurt is often served with falafel because it brings out the hummus’s more neutral taste. The cucumber yogurt also plays well with the herbs in the hummus. On its own, the yogurt sauce is refreshing but when combined with mint and the herbs, it becomes an invigorating condiment.
Tzatziki Sauce
Tzatziki sauce is a very popular Greek sauce that’s made out of yogurt and cucumbers. Often, falafel is paired with tzatziki because both are very popular Greek foods. Cucumbers have a more neutral taste, but when combined with yogurt, they can become more aromatic.
Baba Ganouj and Yogurt
Finally, baba ganouj and yogurt are a match made in heaven. Baba ganouj is a Middle Eastern eggplant dip that’s often served with falafel. Yogurt plays well with the baba ganouj because it brings out its eggplant taste. On its own, yogurt is less exciting, but combined with the baba ganouj, it becomes more aromatic and interesting.
Conclusion
Falafel is one of the easiest things you can make, but unfortunately, many falafel recipes don’t get it right. If you’ve ever made falafel at home and found that it wasn’t exactly what you expected, you’re definitely not alone. But, falafel doesn’t need to be difficult. There are just some things you should keep in mind when making falafel. With these 5 tips, you can’t go wrong with falafel!
