Crispy Roasted Chickpeas

Well, its another way to add some healthy crunch to your diet. Chickpeas are a great source of protein and fiber. These roasted chickpeas are pretty addictive and keeps your bag of potato chips at bay. It is a great on-the-go snack and you can munch anytime guilt-free. What more to say, snack on it and you will love it just like i did. Here goes the recipe,

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups Chickpeas/Garbanzo beans (soaked)

1/2tbsp Olive Oil

1/2tsp or less Chilli powder

Salt

How to:

• Pressure cook the soaked chickpeas for 2-3 whistles. (Alternatively, you can use canned garbanzo beans. Make sure you rinse thoroughly and pat dry.)
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Lay the chickpeas over a paper towel and dry'em completely.

• Place them on a baking sheet and add the oil, chilli powder and salt.

• Mix'em with your hands and make sure they aren't crowded.

• Bake for 45 mins, until crispy.

• Let it cool on the sheet before storing it.
• Serve as a evening snack with tea or coffee.

Baked Falafel & Tahini Dip

Be ready to munch as many falafels as you can without any guilt. For a crispier Falafel, the mixture is very well flattened and might look like chickpea patties. Chickpeas are rich in protein and very good for your diet. Normally the deep-fried falafels we eat at the restaurants use uncooked chickpeas. I have also used uncooked chickpeas to prepare the mixture. If you are not ok with it, feel free to use the canned or pressure cooked chickpeas. Here goes the recipe,

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup Chickpeas/garbanzo beans (soaked and drained)

1/4 cup Onion (minced)

2-3 Garlic cloves

1tsp baking powder

1tsp Coriander powder

1tsp Cumin powder

1tsp Lemon juice

1tsp Olive oil

1/2tsp dried red pepper flakes

2tbsp Cilantro (chopped)

1/2tsp Salt

1/4tsp ground Black pepper

How to:

• Blend/grind all the above ingredients coarsely and keep aside.

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
• Shape the mixture into equal size balls, flatten it out and place it on the baking sheet.

• Bake for 15 mins on each side or until browned.

• Let cool and serve warm with the tahini dip.

Dip:

1/4 cup Tahini paste

1 1/2tsp Lemon juice

2tbsp water

Cilantro, minced

Suamc (optional)

• Mix together the above ingredients and add more/less water for desired consistency. 

• Sprinkle sumac and serve as a side.

Garlic Hummus

From the day 1 of my visit to a neighborhood restaurant 'Aladdin Gyro-cery', i started having an affair with the gyros, falafel, pita breads, baba ghanoush and hummus. Did i say the whole menu? Looks like i did. Oops! missed the dessert, moist baklava and lovely basbousa. Me & Senthil love to dine there. They serve this awesome hummus with the falafel plate and pita breads. It tastes  so good, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with sumac. Wondering what sumac is? 'Sumac' is a shrub, which produce sumac bobs,a dark-red fruit cluster with a seed at the center. They are ground and used as a spice to give a tangy, lemony taste. The chickpeas are a great source of protein and dietary fiber, totally healthy.

Coming to the recipe, i used few extra garlic pods to make hummus, garlicky. Also, I sprinkled paprika, as i didn't have sumac in my pantry. There are quite a number of add-ins along with other ingredients, one reader suggested adding 'garam masala powder', that's an awesome idea of making hummus 'Indian style'. You be creative. My garlic hummus tasted very good with soft pita pocket breads, we just scooped up the dip and every mouthful was a moment to treasure. Next time, am gonna add few more garlic pods and make Extra Garlic Hummus.

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked /1 16oz can Garbanzo beans (Chickpea)

6 pods Garlic

1/4 cup Lemon juice

1/3 cup Tahini paste

3/4-1 cup Water

1tsp Cumin powder

1-2tbsp Olive oil

Salt

Paprika, Cilantro (for garnishing)

How to:

• Blend together the garbanzo beans, garlic, lemon juice, tahini, cumin powder and water along with salt. 

• Pour the water 1/4 cup at a time to find the right consistency. Also taste as you go along and add salt as needed. You can also add 1/2 of the olive oil while blending, for a smooth textured dip.
• Transfer the blended mixture to a serving plate or bowl, swirl it with a fork, sprinkle some paprika for bright color, drizzle the remaining olive oil and garnish with chopped cilantro.

Serve with pita breads or chips.


I thought, i would add this banner for my readers to understand that the recipe is completely healthy.

Sending this dish to the following events:


A.W.E.D.MENU hosted by niloufer started by DK

CWF: LB - Chickpeas hosted by Nithu and started by Kiran


MLLA 27 an event by Susan of The Well Seasoned Cook.

Chickpea Curry/Kadalai Curry

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Garbanzo beans/Chickpeas

1 onion diced

2 tomatoes diced

1/2 grated Coconut

1tbsp ginger-garlic paste

1tsp Fennel seeds

1 Cinnamon stick

1tbsp Chilli powder

1 1/2tbsp Coriander powder

Salt

Water

Oil

How to:

• Soak the chickpeas overnight in a bowl with 4 cups of water. They become soft and doubles in size.

• Pressure cook the chickpeas with enough water along with salt.

• In a skillet, heat oil and add onions and saute until it turns golden brown.
• Now add diced tomatoes and cook till it gets mashed up.

• Let it cool and grind it with the coconut and make a fine paste.

• Heat oil in a skillet, add fennel seeds, cinnamon and ginger-garlic paste. Cook till the raw smell disappears.
• Now add the ground mixture and cook well along with a 1 1/2 cups water and salt.
• Add chilli powder and coriander powder and cook. Make sure there is sufficient water, as the masala may get burnt at the bottom.
• Once the raw coconut smell disappears, add the cooked chick peas and cook for further 2 mins.

• Adjust the salt for taste and garnish it with cilantro.

Yum! Yum! Yum!

Sending this recipe to the event "Cooking with Whole Food - Legumes & Beans (CWF - LB)" by Nithu Bala. Also check  

Kiran's Future Guest Hosts Page.