Falafels originated in the mid-east and is a famous fast food of the Egypt. Not just Egypt, but a popular food all over the world. Falafel is served in pita pockets (thick breads which forms a pocket while baking), in wraps or eaten just like that with hummus. I was waiting to try this at home since i had these on our visit to newyork city sometime back.
It was a dull snowy day and i wanted myself get engaged in doing something new. Actually, i was asked to prepare something new by my "HD" (even he gets bored with all my regular dishes :-)). He is not of the type of accepting food, however it is.... Good and tasty food served on time is what everybody wants! I tried this out just for him and it was a great hit ! I never told what i was going to do that day. My "HD" was so curious and was peeping into the kitchen frequently to see whats going on.. But, he could not make it out what i am doing. He was so happy to see them on the table "Ready to eat"!. I never expected i would get such a nice pita bread, baking at home and the falafels had a wonderful taste that my kid ate them hot with a favourite sauce. The dull day turned nice and bright and we all had a wonderful family time after that. It was lotta fun!
Falafel
Ingredients:
It was a dull snowy day and i wanted myself get engaged in doing something new. Actually, i was asked to prepare something new by my "HD" (even he gets bored with all my regular dishes :-)). He is not of the type of accepting food, however it is.... Good and tasty food served on time is what everybody wants! I tried this out just for him and it was a great hit ! I never told what i was going to do that day. My "HD" was so curious and was peeping into the kitchen frequently to see whats going on.. But, he could not make it out what i am doing. He was so happy to see them on the table "Ready to eat"!. I never expected i would get such a nice pita bread, baking at home and the falafels had a wonderful taste that my kid ate them hot with a favourite sauce. The dull day turned nice and bright and we all had a wonderful family time after that. It was lotta fun!
Falafel
Ingredients:
- Chickpeas - 1 cup
- Onions - 3/4 cup finely chopped
- Garlic - 2 cloves minced
- Cilantro Leaves - 1/2 cup chopped
- Fresh Parsely - 2 tbsp
- Ground Cumin - 1 tsp
- Crushed red pepper - 1/2 tsp
- Corriander powder - 1/2 tsp
- Bread crumbs - 1/4 cup
- Salt - as required
- Oil - for Frying
How to make it:
Soak dried chickpeas for about 8 hours or overnight. Pressure cook chickpeas until done. Or, if using canned chickpeas, drain the water and use it directly in the recipe. Combine chickpeas, onions, garlic, cilantro and parsely in a food processor and make it into a coarse paste. Add cumin, crushed red pepper, corrainder powder, bread crumbs and salt. Make small balls out of the dough and fry in oil until light brown.
Pita Bread
Ingredients:
Ingredients:
- All purpose flour - 1 1/2 cup
- Quick rising yeast - 1 tsp
- Salt - 1/4 tsp
- Sugar - 1/4 tsp
- Warm water - 1/2 cup
How to make it:
Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add sugar. Set aside for about 15 minutes, until the yeast forms a frothy layer on top. In a large bowl, mix flour and salt. Add the yeast water and enough luke warm water to prepare the dough. Knead the dough for atleast 10 minutes until it becomes soft and elastic. Keep the prepared dough in a greased bowl. Set aside in a warm place for about 2 hours, until the dough becomes twice the actual size. Make small equal sized balls out of it and arrange the balls on a plate and let it sit for another 15 minutes. Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit, take a ball of the dough and with a rolling pin make it into a circle with little thickness. Place it on a baking sheet and bake for about 5 minutes. You can see the bread puffing up. Turn to the other side and bake for 2 more minutes. Remove from the oven and spray some oil over the bread. This keeps the bread from getting hard. (pic: clockwise- falafels in pita pockets, pita bread cut into half, pita bread puffing inside the oven)
For Stuffing:
Ingredients:
Ingredients:
- Onion - 1 finely chopped
- Tomatoes - 2 finely chopped
- Carrot - 1 shredded
- Cilantro - ( as required) shredded
- Sauce - Tahini, Tomato sauce, Chilli-garlic or as preferred
- Hummus - As required
How to make it:
Take a pita bread and cut into two. On one half, stuff some onions, tomatoes and carrot. Place 2 or 3 falafels and add more onions, tomatoes, carrot and cilantro over that. Drizzle some sauce on top or Serve with your favourite sauce and Hummus.
Take a pita bread and cut into two. On one half, stuff some onions, tomatoes and carrot. Place 2 or 3 falafels and add more onions, tomatoes, carrot and cilantro over that. Drizzle some sauce on top or Serve with your favourite sauce and Hummus.
I'm sending this to Alka of Sindhirasoi for her "Just for You" event and also to Susan of The well-seasoned cook for her event "My legume love affair - Eighth helping".
Oh my u make me hungry! Beautifully puffed pita & tasty falafel!
Absolutely fabulous entry,i wish u cud have send in this , perfect pita+falafel to me in real world and not just virtually
Thanks for participating :-)
I love love faafel like this, when we were in egypt for holiday we had them almost everyday , especially the street ones were the best there.
Your looks o yumm, i am craving for them now.
Omg! falafel looks perfect and feel like grabbing it.
cheers.
Awesome Anu, feel like grabbing one of those...perfect! :)
Falafels are one of my all time favorite foods...yours looks beautiful and your pita looks perfect :-)
thank you for the comment Anu. I'm here for the first time too, you've got beautiful and rich vegetarian delices here. the Pita pockets look yummy!
Wow you made pita at home too.. neat. I love falafel - looks so tempting.
I live in dubai and enjoy eating falafels but never tried making it, will take ur recipe and do it.Thanks for commenting on my blog
Looks yummy..My tastebuds started craving for that..Awesome!!!
ooh, yum yum yummy! mouth-watering!
Awesome Anu,Looks yum & tempting...
Yummy Anu. They look perfect. I love falafels, but never thought of making it at home! :) Lazy me!!
Looks delicious,never tasted before,much tempting:)
i love falafel...
urs look great.
thanks for stopping by my place..hope i will see u more often.:)
Looks tempting and delicious.
I didn't have much luck with making puffy pitas,yours looks perfect and combo with falafel is simply delicious:)
Am hungry now....this is new.Lovely recipe Anu:)
Awesome Anu..since long I have been planning to make this..yeah..lzy me..:(
Loved ur flafel n puffed up Pita's..yummy..:)
wow...looks yummy ;)
hey anu,I know u thru sri ;)she told me abt u when we were talking...and also she said ur hubby knows my hubby :)-Is it? where are u in thm?couldn't see u at all?
Yummy Anu. Want some right now.
As you can see, I am back. Thanks for all your well wishes. Love ya.
Oh my god, This is not fair u make me hungry, lovely falafel n love the idea of putting them in pita bread, feel like grabbing one from the pics...delicious n tasty falafel..
feeling hungry and nothing in my hand for snacks... u r tempting and make my hunger to the core...This is not fare send me some right now.
get something and enjoy reading in mine....
That looks absolutely delicious...I would love to have for lunch :)
Hi anu, have something for u here http://vibaas-world.blogspot.com/2008/02/morkuzhambu-south-indian-kadhi.html
i made falafel this week too... but they aren't as yummy looking as yours!
This is really awesome recipe, anu, i cn try out with store bought pita bread.
love your falafels, posted this myself, but the next time, i'm gonna try your way by first cooking the chanas!
Wow...Falafels with Pita looks lovely...liked the idea of doing from scratch. Nice one.
Amazing pockets well presented and fun to eat, I enjoyed reading this recipe.. thank you 4 sharing
Love falafel, and homemade pita is really just too wonderful!
Thank you, Anu, for the great recipes for one of the best street foods ever!
The MLLA8 round-up will be online this weekend.
kalakara Anu, All your recipes are great and the pictures are tempting me to eat them.....!
I was looking for a pita bread recipe...this one is certainly bookmarked.Great pita pockets.
I was looking for an eggless version of falafal. Thank very much for posting this recipe.Falafel looks very yummy.
I am here for the first time. So delicious with puffed pita bread.
The New York Pass is like a credit card - which gives you absolutely free admission to more then 80 popular New York tourist attractions.
love this recipe.
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