Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Falafel with Tahini Sauce




A couple of years back, if you had asked me about falafels, I would have been clueless. But, thanks to the blogging world, I came to know about them. Though I have read many blogs posts and recipes on falafels I never tried it at home nor did I get a chance to taste them in India. Now, here in Amsterdam, Falafels are a popular street food. And finally I got to have my share of falafels from a local shop here. They are very delicious and a filling meal too.

The Dutch cuisine is influenced by cuisines of many countries and one of them is the Middle Eastern. It is very visible from the popularity of dishes like Falafels and baklava.

Falafels are deep fried chickpea or fava bean balls, served traditionally with Pita Bread and Tahini sauce and pickled vegetables. These can also be enjoyed a snack by skipping the bread.



Makes about 14 falafels

What you'll need

For the falfel
  1. Dry Chickpeas (soaked overnight) – 2 cups
  2. Onion – ½ of a big one
  3. Garlic – 2 cloves
  4. Green Chilly – 1
  5. Coriander Powder – ½ tsp
  6. Cumin Powder – ½ tsp
  7. Chopped fresh Coriander – 2 tbsp
  8. All purpose flour – 3 tbsp
  9. Salt to taste


Method
  1. Drain all the water from the soaked Chickpeas. Keep it as dry as possible.
  2. Add the chickpeas to the mixer/food processor.
  3. Add chopped onion, garlic, green chilly, coriander powder, cumin powder, and grind to a coarse consistency. Don’t make into smooth paste. Grind without adding any water.
  4. Transfer to a bowl. Add the salt, coriander leaves and flour.
  5. Mix well and refrigerate for a couple of hours.
  6. Heat oil for deep frying.
  7. Make small balls out of the chickpea mixture. Add one ball to the oil and test, if it stays whole then make balls with the remaining mixture and deep fry 4 to 5 balls at a time until nice and brown. Drain excess oil on a tissue paper. If the ball disintegrates, then add more flour to the mixture and fry.
  8. Deep fry in a medium flame, if the oil is too hot, outside with become dark very soon but inside will remain uncooked.
  9. Serve these with Pita bread and Tahini Sauce
For the Tahini Sauce

  1. White Sesame Seeds – ½ cup
  2. Oil – 2 to 3 tbsp
  3. Lemon juice – 1 tbsp (adjust according to taste)
  4. Roasted Garlic – 1 clove, crushed
  5. Chopped coriander leaves – 1 tbsp
  6. Salt to taste
  7. Method
  8. Heat a pan, roast the sesame seeds lightly.
  9. Cool and grind into a paste, without adding water.
  10. Now add the oil little at a time and grind. You can add more oil and make it into pouring consistency.
  11. Transfer to a bowl, add salt, lemon juice crushed garlic and about ½ cup water.
  12. Mix well adjust consistency and seasoning by adding water, lemon juice and salt.
  13. Finally garnish with coriander leaves.



Serve with falafel.

Note: If serving stuffed in Pita bread, flatten the balls slightly like a patty, so that they can be easily kept inside the bread.


25 comments:

Lifewithspices said...

sooperbb love the pics..

Divya A said...

Nice clicks, delectably prepared looks wonderful and yum!! :)

Unknown said...

yummy falafel and delcious sauce

Anonymous said...

The most awaited dish. Which we like a lot.
One more serving option is there. You can even try that.
Mash the falafel. Make a small roti (sukhi roti but like rumali roti texture). Can keep lettuce leaves over roti, sliced onion, mayonnaise, mashed falafel, tomato and little squeeze of lemon, salt and pepper to taste. Roll the roti and serve.
It would be a heavenly taste. :) happy cooking...

Anusha said...

Awww..... a different version of falafels! you ve used cilantro and not parsley :) looks swell

Sona - quick picks/pick quicks said...

aah..thats interesting..Falafel being a common street food even there !!! your platter luks very tempting, so crisp and great with tahina dip.

virunthu unna vaanga said...

Wow very delicious and healthy.. Superb one aks... love it alot... will try soon...

Unknown said...

awesome perfect snack and lovely pics....
Anu's Healthy Kitchen - Swiss Chard Chana Dal Masala Vada

Sangeetha Priya said...

delicious n so colorful :-)

Vimitha Durai said...

Amma has been asking me to try this. looks so tempting

Unknown said...

Awesome Kaveri.... all look super tempting ans inviting..

Nithya said...

This recipe is new to me.. Thanks for sharing.. nice clicks..

The Yogi Vegetarian said...

Useful post- I've been trying to make falafel for ages but with limited success; they always fall to pieces in the oil. I thought it was oil temperature too low, now I see from your recipe that I should have chilled them before frying- thanks :)

divya said...

Looks super delicious

Swathi said...

Delicious tahini and falafel recipe Kaveri. I love it.

Amina Creations said...

falafels look delicious... bookmarked...

Hamaree Rasoi said...

Deliciously crispy and mouthwatering falafel.
Deepa

Unknown said...

falafel looks perfect round and delicious !!!

www.mahaslovelyhome.com said...

beautifully presented n Yummy looking falafel balls

great-secret-of-life said...

healthy snack & so tempting presentation

Vidya Chandrahas said...

Falafel looks delicious..this is something new to me.

Jeyashris Kitchen said...

I wanted to try this for a long time, beautifully done and looks pretty

Unknown said...

Falafel is our go to Mediterranean food :-), perfectly made. I know what you mean by blogging expanding your horizons, very true.

Chitz said...

Looks so perfect.. Wish I cud get some now from that plate :)

Sona said...

looks yummy.. nice clicks...

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