Sunday 26 June 2011

Falafels - Time to add an Indian touch to BBQ's


It’s lovely and hot here and lots of people are organising barbeque parties.  Being a vegetarian, I get bored with just vege burgers and salad so I decided to make falafels  to make a change.  Falafels  are made from fried chickpeas and are a very popular filling for pita bread.  Traditionally, it's a Mediterranean dish but the recipe is very similar to the Dall bhajias I make but don't tell that to my son.  His challenge was that they should taste like the ready made we can get from the chilled counter in the supermarket.  Falafels are healthy and really easy to make.   Served in a pitta or tortilla or on their own, they are just perfect for BBQ’s,  snacks or a light lunch. You can make a big batch of falafels and freeze them to use as you need them.


Falafel Recipe
Timing 1 hour
Preparation required

Ingredients for 20-25 falafels

3 cups of dried white chick peas (kabuli chana) or 4 cups of boiled chickpeas .  (you can also use canned chick peas)
2  medium potaoes
1 onion
3-4 cloves of garlic
3-4 green chillies
1-2 teaspoons of grated garlic
2 tablespoons plain flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 litre cooking oil

For serving:

6-8 pitta bread
A variation of Salad – I tend to use white and red cabbage, carrots, red peppers, lettuce and tomatoes 
Plus a variety of condiments such as sour cream, tahini, chilly sauce etc

Method

1. Soak the chickpeas overnight.

2. Once soaked, boil them with lots of water in a pressure cooker if possible. Boiling them in a saucepan could take longer.


3. At the same time, peel and boil the two potatoes.

4. Add the boiled chick peas, potatoes, onions,garlic, garlic, green chillies into a food processor.


5. Add the spices – salt and pepper.

6. Blend the mixture.

7. Remove the mixture and add the plain flour as that helps to bind the mixture.

8. Divide the mixture into 20-25 small balls.


9. You can keep them on a round shape or flatten them slightly.


10. Heat the oil and fry the falafels in a medium heat, turning them occasionally to ensure that they are cooked thoroughly.





To serve:

11. Warm the tortillas in the grill or BBQ.

12. Cut them in half and fill them with falafels, salad and any condiments you like. This is the time to be adventurous and try out a variation.

My son loved them and had them for his lunch for two days.  His verdict was that they tasted better than the shop bought ones!! Now - that is a compliment indeed from my fussy eater. 





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27 comments:

  1. Falafels looks crispy & tempting!!! Have come out perfect!!!
    Prathima Rao
    Prats Corner

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  2. OMG look at those perfectly shaped Falafel balls..just yummy

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  3. wow looks perfect and nice crispy falafels !!

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  4. wow so tempting !! looks so wonderful !!

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  5. Mina these healthy falafels look delicious
    regards Akheela

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  6. lovely falafels..looks crispy n delicious..:)

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  7. They looks addictive and super prefect,yumm!

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  8. Looks so perfect n delicious ....love that platter

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  9. Awesome! Falafels are my fav. Looks so perfect.
    Thanks for dropping by my blog and leaving such beautiful comments.
    Happy to follow u..

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  10. Thts a nice version of falafels... i too like them a lot.. but i usually make them without adding potatoes...

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  11. Perfect & crispy looking!!! They have turned out really well....Yummy dish!!!

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  12. Absolutely love your Indian touch :)

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  13. beautiful falafels...love love love the whole platter.

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  14. @Cooking Foodie I added potatoes to give it more binding.

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  15. Thank you everyone for your comments.

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  16. I eat meat, but these falafel would certainly be welcome at my barbecue! They look delicious.

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  17. This is a great blog as I once took a class in Indian vegetarian cooking.
    So this is very useful and looks great with beautiful pictures.

    Check out my movie blog where I have recently posted some pictures of Shah Rukh Khan when he visited City Hall for the IIFA award show.

    http://my-filmjournal.blogspot.com/

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  18. Vow, it's a fantastic recipe, amazing clicks too.

    Thanx for visisting my blog and dropping such anice comment. You have a wonderful space, glad to follow you.

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  19. Here in the USA we will be celebrating our independence day from England on July 4, 1776.

    We will be having a BBQ. Thanks for the recipe :-)

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  20. Perfectly done and love the spices you've added to them...

    http://treatntrick.blogspot.com

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  21. they looks so fantastic nice pictures..

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  22. Hello Mina,

    This is my first visit to your side of the cyber world. I'm so glad I came by, lol. I keep reading of these great post of how awesome your recipes are. After reading your latest I'm convince that I can add some new dishes to the list of dishes I create. Can't wait to try some homemade Falafels! Thanks for this post.

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  23. this looks very very gooood ...I'm mouthwatering..:P
    Tasty Appetite

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  24. Falafals are my favorite of all greek food. I can snack on them all day long and still won't get enough! Love your take on the crispy, crunch dish!

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  25. Thanks for your appreciation. I made these falafel desi way n posted in my blog last week. N ur variation is awesome.

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  26. They look so tasty and easy to make! Thanks for posting!

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