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.

Banana Flower Vada (Vazhaipoo Vadai) & an Award

Whenever we are in the veggies section at the Indian store, Senthil will whisper in my ears or speaks with his eyes to buy the banana flower and prepare vadas. My answer would be 'no' all the time. He was smiling the other day when he saw me picking up the banana flower. Broke my 'diet' spell and prepared vadais which are drowned and bathed in hot oil, totally blaming it on Diwali. After all, its festival season, missing my home and what could be more comforting than a fried snack that feels exactly like home? Its going to be a sinful week, i guess. Alright, here goes the recipe,

Ingredients:

1 medium Banana flower

1 cup Chana dal 

4 Green Chilli (finely chopped)

1tsp Ginger (chopped)

5-6 Curry leaves

1/2tsp Fennel seeds

1 Cardamom stick (1/2")

1tsp Turmeric powder

Salt

Oil for deep frying

How to:

• Soak the chana dal for 2 hours.
• Meanwhile start removing the outer purple layer and save the small bunch of white flowers. Continue until you find the last bunch. 
• In each small flower, remove and discard the stem with a black tip in the middle(my mom calls it a thief with a black head) and also a small transparent plastic like skin. (Takes a little more time than you think.)
• Then immerse all the flowers in a bowl of water with turmeric powder, to avoid browning.
• Drain the chana dal and coarse grind with ginger, cinnamon, fennel seeds and salt.

• Also drain the banana flowers and squeeze out the water completely.
• Roughly chop'em and add the chana dal mixture to it. Also add green chillies and curry leaves, and blend well. (If you don't want to bite into green chillies in your vada, you can add'em while grinding the chana dal.)

• Heat oil in a deep pan at medium-high heat.
• Make flat-round shaped balls and deep fry'em until golden brown. (Check salt for taste by frying a small ball at first.)

• Drain excess oil with a paper towel.

• Serve hot as an appetizer or snack.

Hi friends, very happy to receive an award from Jaisy James of Ente Pachakasala. She is a wonderful blogger with diverse collection of recipes. Do check her space, if you haven't.


And i would like to share this with a few of my blogger friends.

AnandaRajashekar
Satrupa
SangeethaSubhash
Akila
Sameena
Priya
Smitha
Satya
Pushpa
UmmMymoonah
Jay
Akheela
Aipi
Vineelasiva

Kindly collect your award, gals. Thank you.