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Stack of golden Greek chickpea fritters on a wooden board with lemon wedges and a small bowl of yogurt sauce.

Pan-Fried Greek Chickpea Fritters (Revithokeftedes)

Greek chickpea fritters made from soaked raw chickpeas, herbs, and onion, pan-fried until crisp outside and soft inside.
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Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Calories: 295
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Fritters
  • 250 g dried chickpeas soaked in cold water 12 to 24 hours, drained well
  • 1 yellow onion small (about 100 g); grated and squeezed to remove liquid
  • 4 scallions finely sliced
  • 1/2 cup fresh dill chopped
  • 2 tbsp fresh mint chopped
  • 1/4 cup fresh parsley chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves minced
  • 4 tbsp all-purpose flour (30 g); plus 1 to 2 tbsp more if mixture feels wet
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
For Frying
  • 250 ml olive oil for shallow frying, regular olive oil not extra virgin
To Serve
  • 4 lemon wedges
  • 1/2 cup plain yogurt optional, for serving

Method
 

  1. Drain the soaked chickpeas and pat them dry with a clean towel or paper towels.
  2. Grate the onion into a bowl, then squeeze the pulp in a clean towel to remove as much liquid as possible. Discard the liquid.
  3. In a food processor, pulse the chickpeas, squeezed onion, scallions, dill, mint, parsley, and garlic until finely ground but not pureed, like coarse sand. Scrape down the sides once or twice.
  4. Transfer the mixture to a bowl. Add the flour, baking soda, salt, and pepper, and mix with your hands until it holds together when pressed. Add an extra tablespoon of flour if it still feels too wet to shape.
  5. Cover and chill the mixture in the fridge for 20 minutes. This firms it up so the patties hold their shape in the hot oil.
  6. Pour the olive oil into a 26 cm / 10-inch skillet to a depth of about 1.5 cm / half an inch. Heat over medium heat until it reaches 175C/350F, a small piece of dough should sizzle right away when dropped in.
  7. Shape the chilled mixture into 40 g balls and flatten slightly into patties, about 20 in total.
  8. Fry the patties in batches of 5 to 6, without crowding the pan, for 2 to 3 minutes per side until golden brown and crisp on both sides.
  9. Transfer the fried fritters to a paper-towel-lined plate to drain briefly.
  10. Serve warm with lemon wedges and a spoon of plain yogurt on the side.

Notes

  • Soak chickpeas at least 12 hours, quick-soaking gives a mushy batter.
  • Don't skip squeezing the onion, excess water thins the mixture.
  • Chill the batter 20 minutes so patties hold together in the oil.
  • Fry in batches, crowding the pan drops the oil temperature and makes fritters soggy.