Friday, September 21, 2007

Falafel



You know the old rut. " Ma, You never make anything nice nowadays. Its always soooooo bbbboooorrrring". Somehow whatever we make, the grass is always greener on the other side. A vegetable made in a friend's house is always "ssoooo yummy!!!!!" whereas the same thing when made at home, will get a response of " yuck, no". Like they say 'ghar ki murgi dal barabar' ( translated as a chicken from ones own house is equivalent to an ordinary dal)
Its always a challenge to come up with nutritious yet tasty, new but not too different tastes...

So thats something I am always on the look out for, new recipes loaded with nutrition, and of course lot of vegetables hidden in it.

A few years ago on a holiday, I had falafel . The taste was so familiar to my palate, but yet so different.
But I somehow forgot about it after that first time. The other day just scouting around all the blogs looking for something for the MBP event on bread, I came across a reference to a falafel recipe on Nupur's blog. It was a part of the Pita sandwich. I had anyway decided on the whole wheat pita bread for an event. So this was just taking the concept forward and going the whole hog.

It looked so yummy and interesting, I had to give it a try immediately. So here goes.

I used the same recipe she did with wonderful results.

No changes at all. It was yum.


I also made the "taratour sauce" to go with it.



I had to make the tahini from scratch. I blended
1/2 cup lightly roasted sesame seeds along with
3 tablespoon light sesame oil.


To make the taratour sauce exactly as per her recipe I added
1/2 cup yoghurt,
1 minced garlic clove,
salt to taste ,
2 tablespoon lemon juice,
1/2 teaspoon cumin powder to the
tahini.



I made pita bread ( recipe here ) and made a pita sandwich. I stuffed the pita with 2-3 falalfels, some sliced iceberg lettuce, and a salad made with diced tomatoes, cucumber, red/yellow/green capsicum, coriander leaves and parsley, salt and pepper.


The final sandwich was very tasty only it lacked that spicy kick that most Indian palates enjoy. So I add a few drops of tabasco to add that hot taste. PERFECT!!!


( BTW, the kids loved it. They thought it was something quite different). I am glad I tried this one out. It will definitely be a repeat at home.

14 comments:

Unknown said...

Nice one Kamini.... Looks absolutely delicious!!!

Bindiya said...

wow! that looks tempting.
bindiya

Anonymous said...

i can totally relate to the first para - i sometimes find my own cooking boooooooooorrrrring :D.

tabasco sauce is such a good addition - i replace the tahini with tomato pickle or avakkai chaaru that both my amma and mother in law keep making for me.

Nupur said...

I'm so glad your tried that flaafel recipe, it is definitely a keeper! Your home-made tahini looks fantastic.

Finla said...

Wow they do look delicious.
I love them.
When we were in Egypt for holiday we could eat falafel in the street shop with pitta bread and salade .

FH said...

I have posted one too with Tahini sauce, tastes great and yes, kids favorite too.I think they love the Pita more!:))

Mishmash ! said...

Your intro was quite good and funny...reminded me of our school days and how our mother used to try for variety :) A morning dose of nostalgia :)

Shn

Laavanya said...

Great looking falafel there Kamini.

Siri said...

The Falafel looks so yummy dear.. I knew this dish .. but didn't know how to make it.. thanks for sharing.. and I always feel by cooking "boooooooring".. hehhehe..

Namratha said...

Pita bread and now this...oh my ..too good! Gotta try this over the weekend

Manasi said...

hi! Yep love falafel in pita pockets! I have blogged about the same a few months ago for Meeta's MM!!

Mansi said...

looks great kamini!! I just got a ecipe from my friend and I'm gonna make it soon...so will post it too sometime later:)

Unknown said...

Great pictures!! Slurp!Slurp!

Anonymous said...

Delicious looking falafels !!! now you have aroused my appetite ... must seek out a nice falafel place to have one. Maybe Falafel Drivein ... I know they used to make the best falafels in town.
Sandya