Falafel

Ever since I landed in Dubai and my interest in blogging picked up I have been keen on trying some Middle Eastern recipes. I have  a few in my mind and Falafel is one of them.
Some very common ingredients in Middle Eastern  cuisine are olives,olive oil, sesame seeds( from which the tahini sauce is made), chickpeas, dates ,cumin,garlic etc.. and Falafels were a totally new recipe for me.. It was  cutlets made from chickpeas ,fava beans or both.Falafel is usually served in a pita, which acts as a pocket, or wrapped in a flatbread known as lafa. The falafel balls are topped with salads, pickled vegetables, hot sauce, and drizzled with tahini-based sauces. Falafel balls may also be eaten alone as a snack or served as part of a meze.(Source :Wikipedia)

I made the falafels as a snack and I made it with chick preas.Dassana of Veg recipes  of India has recently posted an excellent Pita bread recipe and  you can check it here. I am yet to try it .
A falafel mould is used to make falafel but I  its easy to be made.You can just roll it  and then flatten it or just roll it.Here is  a pic of Falafel mould i took from the web

Despite being here in Dubai I have not had Falafels here so I have no comparison to how my end product was.. (blame it on the Dubai heat, I am almost in house arrest)..it would have been easier if we had a car.. but if  you want to buy a car in dubai you have to get your license first… one must be thinking .. “ what is the big deal in getting a license?”.. Take my word.. it is  a bigggggg deal here.. they are not giving licenses so easily… Most likely you make at least 4 attempts in the road test ..If you are one lucky chap and  lady luck is shining on you then its  a different story.. but have heard of very few people who got it in the first attempt..N is going for his 3rd attempt soon..Wish us luck.. may the gods,Lady luck and of course the RTA inspector have mercy on us..Inshallah!!!okay sorry for the diversion…. coming back from the road to the falafels!!!The only thing I can vouch for is .. it’s a very easy recipe..simple.. can be made fast( if you have boiled chickpeas) and the mix if prepared in huge quantity can be refrigerated  or frozen too.
So this goes as a an easy make ahead option if you are having guests over!!

Ingredients:

Original Recipe:dedemed

Chickpeas- 2 cups
Parsley leaves- a little less than 1/2 cup
Coriander Leaves – 3/4th  cup
Garlic- 5-6 cloves minced
Cumin powder-  1 tablespoon
Coriander powder- 1 tspn
Black Pepper- 1 tspn
Baking Powder-1/2 tspn( add just before frying)
Bread Crumbs-original recipe says 3-4 tbsp..but I required more as the chickpeas was falling apart when fried in oil.
(original recipe used 1 and 1/2 cup fava beans. I skipped it for the time being)

How I made it?

Soak the chick peas over night and boil till done.I used  a pressure cooker and boiled for almost 20 minutes.Drain and keep aside
Blend the chickpeas in a food processor till it is crumbled..It should not be made into a paste.
Then blend the parsley, coriander  and garlic into fine paste.Mix this with the crumbled chickpeas.
Also mix the cumin powder,coriander powder salt and pepper into chickpeas.Adjust salt and pepper according to preference.
Add in the bread crumbsand mix very well.add the baking powder  before frying and mix well.
Heat oil in a deep kadai(saucepan) and roll the mix into balls and deep fry till brown.
Tip:  Try one falafel and if the falafel breaks , add in more breadcrumbs.
Remove to absorbent paper so that excess oil is absorbed.
Serve with tahini sauce or  use  with Pita Bread to make pita bread sandwich.

Tahini sauce and pita bread coming soon….:)..That's what i am making today!!!
Note:Original Recipe used onions, i skipped it.

Event Participation:

  hosted by pari of foodelicious for Nithu

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