alkajena September 7, 2015

Falafel is a traditionally Arab food. Falafel are often served along with hummus, and tahini sauce .They’re also great served with toum a Middle Eastern garlic sauce. According to The Encyclopedia of Jewish Food by Gil Marks, “The first known appearance of legume fritters (aka falafel) in the Middle East appears to be in Egypt, where they were made from dried white fava beans and called tamiya/ta-amia (from the Arabic for ‘nourishment’); these fritters were a light green color inside.

 
                                                                                                                                                    When falafel is made the traditional way, is indeed a vegan food; it’s a great source of protein for people who have cut meat out of their diet. It’s relatively low in fat and has no cholesterol. And if you top it with veggies in a pita, it becomes a filling and nourishing meal!
Falafel

In Israel, falafel has been adopted from Arab cuisine and the most popular form, made with chickpeas, is wildly popular. It’s a delicious form of fast food that is much lighter and better for your heart than burgers and fries. The introduction of falafel pita sandwiches made falafel portable, which expanded its popularity and made it into the number one “fast food” in Israel.As chickpea is high in fiber, protein, calcium, iron, magnesium, low in cholesterol, essential vitamins and folate, you can thoroughly enjoy the crisp flavorful falafels.

Falafel is a common dish eaten throughout the Middle East. The fritters are now found around the world as a replacement for meat and as a form of street food. Falafel plays an iconic role in Israeli cuisine and is widely considered to be the national dish of the region.

The best part of this dish is that  you need to make the mixture, make patties, spread on a tray or cookie sheet, allow them to freeze for few hours, assemble and pack them in Ziplock bag to enjoy best home made falafel any day or anytime! Since time is a biggest constraint for me as a working woman, I prefer this as a quick snack for my Son as it could be wrapped in Tacos along with some pickled vegetables , a home made dip and here you have a perfectly healthy Falafel Wrap.

Falafel

Ingredients

For Making Falafel:
  • 2 cups chickpea soaked overnight and drained
  • 1 onion roughly chopped
  • 1 cup fresh coriander leaves
  • 1 tablespoon All purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon roasted cumin
  • 1 teaspoon roasted coriander seeds
  • 5 to 6 nos garlic cloves
  • one Zest of medium lemon
  • 1/2 teaspoon red chili powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 & 1/2 tablespoon sesame seeds
  • 1 & 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
  • to taste Salt and black pepper
  • Oil for frying

Steps

  1. Grind 2 cups of soaked chickpea, coriander leaves, roughly chopped onion, garlic cloves, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, lemon zest and lemon juice to a coarse paste. Transfer  the mixture to a clean large bowl.
  2. Add all purpose four, baking soda, sesame seeds, chili powder, salt and pepper. Mix all the ingredients very well.Divide the mixture into equal size ball and flatten each of them to make a patty. It has yielded me 18 patties.
  3. Refrigerate the patties in a zip lock bag in refrigerator to be used in batches. You can take them out and fry or bake as per your requirement.
  4. Heat enough oil in deep bottom pan. Fry the falafel until golden brown and crisp.
    Do not fry them one very high heat.Take them out on absorbent paper towel.
  • Serve them hot and crisp with hummus or any home made tangy dip, on a pita bread with pickled veggies or as a wrap which I call fusion cooking.

I have served them wrapped in Totillas along with lettuce, onions, cucumber , home made dip, pepper and chilli flakes.

Ingredients:

For the Home made Dip:

  • 6 tbsp Mayonnaise
  • 2 tbsp mustard sauce(I have used Kasundi )
  • 2 tbsp honey

Let’s learn how to do it:

  • Mix the above items together to find a smooth and rich and tangy homemade dip.

A flour tortilla or wheat tortilla which in Spanish means “small cake” is a type of soft, thin flatbread made from finely ground wheat flour.You’ll never use store-bought tortillas again after trying this recipe which is Tender, chewy and simple.

Homemade Tortillas.

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour
½ tsp salt
¾ cup water
3 tbsp Olive oil
Let’s learn How to make Homemade Tortillas

Steps

  1. In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Stir in water and oil. Turn onto a floured surface and knead 10-12 times , adding a little flour or water if needed to achieve a smooth dough.Let it rest for 10 to 15 minutes.
  2. Divide dough into 8 equal parts and on a lightly floured surface, roll each portion into a minimum 7 inch circle.
  3. In a non stick skillet, cook Tortillas over medium heat for 1 minute on each side or until lightly browned.

Store them in Zip lock bag to be used later.

Sending this recipe to Foodie Monday Blog Hop event theme ” KIDS SPECIAL”…………

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