Falafal Sandwich

Ingredients

• Soaked chickpeas - 2 cups
• All purpose flour or maida - 2 tspn
• Small Onion - 1
• Garlic - 3
• Baking soda - 1/4 tspn
• Coriander powder - 1 tspn
• Cumin powder - 1 tspn
• Chilli flakes - 1/2 tspn
• Parsley - 2 tspn
• Coriander leaves - 1/4 cup

health tip

Chickpeas or channa is rich in Folate, dietary fiber( with skin on), Protein, B Vitamins & Iron. Beans & legumes are a good substitute for meat protein. High fiber content prevents blood sugar levels from rising too rapidly after a meal making these beans especially a good choice for individuals with diabetes, insulin resistance or hypoglycemia.

Falafal

method

I was hooked to falafals after having falafal sandwiches at Maoz. Since then I wanted to make them at home. At first, I tried with instant falafal mixes but they did not taste like the ones I had at the restaurant. Therefore, I searched for falafal recipes in the net & experimented with few of them. After couple of trials & adjustments I am finally satisfied with this one. Please go ahead and try this recipe & let me know your comments. This recipe will produce 10 medium sized falafals.

1. Soak the beans overnight. It doesn't have to be cooked. Cooked beans make the Falafal soft & fall apart while frying. This is also the reason why we should not go for tinned beans.
2. Chop the garlic, onion, coriander & parsley leaves coarsely. Add it to a food processor along with other ingredients & soaked chickpeas. Grind them all coarsely with out adding water.
3. Add approximately 1/2 tspn or more of salt & mix well. Leave the dough in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
4. Take the dough out after 20 minutes of refrigeration & make equal sized balls & flatten them to 1 inch vadai. Fry them in hot oil. This recipe yields 11 falafals.
   

   You may freeze falafal for future use. To freeze them, arrange the vadai 1 inch apart in a freezer safe container & place the container in the freezer. To thaw & fry the falafal later, place the frozen falafal in a microwave safe plate & microwave them for a minute or two. Fry them as usual.

   
   
5. You may serve fried falafals as part of a sandwich. You can make yummy sandwiches with pita bread, falafal and hummus. You will need to first spread the hummus on the pita and then add falafal patties to it along with lettuce, tomato, onion and olives.