How to Make Falafel Balls and a KoMo Classic Grain Mill Review

If you’re like me, you’re constantly trying to buy less processed foods, and just trying to make better choices at the grocery store, and overall, eat healthier. Sometimes it feels like baby steps: like using labne instead of sour cream. Other times it feels like a giant leap, for example, when I started using my KoMo Classic Grain Mill to grind grains into flour.

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Disclosure: Pleasant Hill Grain (PHG) sent me a KoMo Classic Electric Grain Mill to try with the condition that if I liked it, I would keep it, review it, and could host a giveaway for my readers, and if I didn’t, I’d simply return it. As always, all opinions are my own.

Komo Classic Grain Mill Review

I’ve had my KoMo grain mill for a few months now, and cannot tell you how exciting it has been to learn just how wonderful it is in expanding my versatility in the kitchen. Now, I don’t have to buy expensive and overly processed flours, instead I can can grind my own.

My friend bought teff and didn’t realize it had to be flour in order to use it, so my KoMo mill came to the rescue and milled it perfectly. Rice flour? I used to buy it, but no more.

I can grind oats finely or more coarsely, depending on what my recipe requires. Just take a look at how the KoMo mill can coarsely grind steel cut oats. Of course, wheat is a given, to make my own whole wheat baking flour for homemade breads and more.

Let me tell you a little about the actual mill before I get into more detail about what it can do, and my most exciting discovery to date!

KoMo Grain Mills are made in Germany and upon inspection of this product, you can actually see the quality craftsmanship: it is simply beautiful. My KoMo Classic mill is constructed of solid native beechwood (there’s a darker model made of American Walnut) with finger-jointed corners.

This mill is heavy, as in 15 lbs heavy; it is definitely not something you will find in a discount department store. The quality is also evident in the fact that it comes with a 12 year warranty.

One thing you know about me, if you have been following Christina’s Cucina for any length of time, and that is my honesty to my readers is my utmost priority. That being said, I am going to tell you what I did to my mill. I feel like a twit, as in hindsight I should have known better, but I chalk it up to the excitement of finding more and more things to grind.

What not to put into Your Komo Classic Grain Mill

Here’s the story: I had some natural sugar which is a bit more granulated than normal white sugar and it’s not that great for baking, as it stays gritty and doesn’t cream well with butter. So I thought, “Oh, I can throw it in the KoMo grain mill and make it finer!” and that’s what I did. I figured out the right setting for fine, but not powdered sugar and it was perfect! 

I was so excited to be able to use the sugar for baking and have it work well in my sweets. Genius, right? Well, not really–because after I’d milled about a pound or more of sugar, the mill began to slow down and I wasn’t quite sure why. After a little while, the power was still going, but the grinding had stopped. Turning it on and off didn’t work. I tried adjust the grind to make it less fine, to no avail.

I was perplexed to say the least. Then I thought maybe it had overheated, so I let it cool down and tried turning it on later, again, to no avail. I was stumped, so I called Pleasant Hill Grain.

Barbara at PHG ended up being one of the most patient customer service reps I’ve ever spoken to (she had no idea I was reviewing the mill when I first called). When I told her what happened, she said, “Well, sugar isn’t something you want to put in the mill”. Before she’d even completed her sentence, my mind pictured the hot stones going round and round, heating the sugar and caramelizing inside the mill. The sugar had glued the millstones together–I felt like a royal idiot!

I’ll cut a long story short and tell you that after Barbara instructed me in what to do to open the mill, (my husband ended up doing it for me) and instead of having to ship the grain mill back to have the stones unglued, he got them apart. Barbara then told me to run some rice through the mill which would clean the stones, and it worked! It’s now working as perfectly as when I received it, thank goodness! Barbara was fantastic, and this experience showed me just how excellent Pleasant Hill Grain’s customer service is.

Here’s one tip I can now give everyone: don’t put sugar in your mill!

What to Grind in Your Komo Classic Grain Mill

You do want to put all sorts of wheat and grains in your mill, though! One advantage that KoMo has over other popular impact mills is the ability to grind grains more coarsely than a fine meal texture.

I’m still learning about different types of wheat and what they’re best for, but here’s an example of a lovely loaf I made in my bread machine, with only wheat flour that I milled in my KoMo mill. You can see the cracked wheat on top, which is something you can’t do with many other mills. If you’re trying to decide on which mill to buy, this may be exactly what you’re looking for:  GRAIN MILL BUYING GUIDE.

I always add some whole wheat flour (which I used to buy) into my white bread flour to make my favorite No-Knead bread. Just look at this loaf!

Did you know that most flour that you buy at the store is stripped of all the nutrients that are found naturally in the whole grain? It is then bleached (why would you want any of your food bleached?) and enriched (vitamins and minerals that were removed are then added). Doesn’t this seem totally contrary to any sort of common sense?

Could this be one of the reasons that celiac disease and other digestive conditions are becoming rampant in our society?  Think about the amount of overly processed flours that are sold to consumers and used in store-bought breads, rolls, cookies and cakes.

Milling your own grains is one way to remove a lot of the processed food in your diet, especially if you are a bread lover, like me. But there’s so much more that you can do than just bread making when you have a KoMo mill.

All dry grains can be ground with the KoMo Classic grain mill, including soft or hard wheat, oat groats (dehulled oats), rice, triticale, kamut, spelt, buckwheat, barley, rye, millet, teff, quinoa, amaranth, sorghum, soybeans and dent (field) corn. It will also grind lentils, dry beans (pinto, red, garbanzo, kidney & more), and dried, non-oily spices. It isn’t suitable for herbs, oilseeds like flax or sesame, popcorn, or fibrous materials. –Pleasant Hill Grain

Making Homemade Vegan, Gluten Free Falafel Mix and How to Make Falafel Balls

Here’s an example of something I’d never have thought I could make before having my KoMo grain mill: my very own gluten free falafel mix, which is also vegan! I first tried falafel when I moved to Los Angeles about 25 years ago, but I had no idea how to make it, so I bought boxes of mix.

They turned out very tasty, but it never occurred to me to try to make my own. More recently, I’d seen recipes using soaked or canned chickpeas, but I’d always had falafel from the dried flour of chickpeas and/or fava beans. I like the idea of using fava beans for added nutrition, too.

Having the mill and using it for all sorts of grains and legumes, made me think about making my own gluten free falafel mix. So I researched this topic online, but couldn’t find any recipe using flours. I then turned to those boxes of falafel mix for spice ideas. However, I must say I was a bit shocked at some of the ingredients which made me feel even better about making my own homemade gluten free falafel mix.

I tried a combination of grinding chickpeas and then fava beans and mixing the flours together, then using trial and error, I discovered the right formula of spices and other ingredients. Don’t ask me how these large legumes are ground in the KoMo mill as it just looks like magic to me!

I had several “tasters” to give me feedback on the different versions of falafel that I made, including one of my daughter’s best friends who is vegan. She loved my final version so much that I gave her two bags of the mix to take to university with her and she jumped for joy! 

Don’t these look fantastic? Look at the texture of these falafel; and they taste even better than they look. Now you can learn how to make falafel balls, too!

What I really love about this homemade gluten free falafel mix is that I can make a few batches to keep in the cupboard as a perfect solution when I have no clue what to make for dinner. All that’s needed to make them is water (and oil to fry them, but they can also be baked). I hope you love this post on how to make falafel balls as the mix is a great pantry staple!

I always keep some pita bread in the freezer (or I fry up some dough) and with a few veggies and tzatziki sauce, a delicious and nutritious meal is ready to go. It also happens to be gluten free (and vegan if you skip the sauce).

How to Make Falafel Balls (a Gluten Free
Falafel Mix Recipe)

original recipe by Christina Conte

Ingredients

• 1 cup (142 g) fava/chickpea flour (ground at about 6 clicks to the left of center)
• 1 tsp kosher or sea salt
• 2 to 3 teaspoons dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon coriander
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tsp baking powder

          – oil for frying

Mix all ingredients together and keep sealed in container or plastic bag until ready to use.

To make falafel balls, add 4 ounces of water to the mixture of dry ingredients.

Allow to rest for 10 to 20 minutes before forming into balls or patties.

Fry in heated oil for about 3 to 4 minutes until lightly browned.

Drain on paper towel.

Serve as desired. My favorite way to eat them is on Greek-style pita bread (done this way without oil, you can make your own). Spread some Tzatziki sauce on the bread, then add your desired veggies (tomato, lettuce, sliced cucumber) and falafel patties and enjoy.

You can do the same with a pocket pita.

They’re also great as appetizers served with a bleu cheese dip (recipe to come). Printable recipe for DIY gluten free falafel mix is below. I hope you share this post on how to make falafel balls with everyone you know, it’s such a great meal!

KoMo Classic Grain Mill Giveaway
from Pleasant Hill Grain

CONTEST IS OVER. Now, for the best news of all: YOU can win your very own KoMo grain mill! Pleasant Hill Grain is graciously providing a KoMo Classic Grain Mill ($500 value) so that you can experience the benefits of milling your flours!

If you can’t wait, here is Pleasant Hill Grain’s website and more information on the KoMo Classic Mill. PHG also sells so much more than mills. For example, they sell other appliances, kitchen tools, cookware, bakeware, grains, legumes, and a dizzying array of products.

To enter, tell me what you would be most excited about milling if you won the KoMo classic mill? You can obtain extra entries once you answer the question, and tweet each day for even more chances! Only entrants 18+ with US addresses, please. 

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Continue to Content

Make Your Own (DIY) Gluten Free Falafel Mix!

Yield: 12 falafel

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Additional Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

A super healthy falafel recipe made from fava and chickpea flour.

Print

Ingredients

• 1 cup (142 g) fava/chickpea flour (ground at about 6 clicks to the left of center)
• 1 tsp kosher or sea salt
• 2 to 3 teaspoons dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon coriander
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tsp baking powder
• oil for frying

Instructions

Mix all ingredients together and keep sealed in container or plastic bag until ready to use.

To make falafel:

1. Add 4 ounces of water to the mixture of dry ingredients. Allow to rest for 10 to 20 minutes before forming into patties or balls.
2. Fry in heated oil for about 3 to 4 minutes until lightly browned. Drain on paper towel.
3. Serve as desired. I like to eat them in a pita with tzatziki sauce, lettuce, tomato and sliced cucumber. They're also great as appetizers served with a bleu cheese dip (recipe to come).

Did you make this recipe?

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how to make falafel balls