Chickpea Croquettes with Tzatziki Sauce

As I was looking for dishes to serve with tzatziki sauce, I saw these chickpea croquettes recipe in Vegetarian Times magazine. Original recipe was not served with tzatziki, but I thought they tasted great with the addition of the creamy yogurt sauce.

I found adding chickpea flour (besan) and whole chickpeas in these croquettes was quite interesting. The whole chickpeas give these croquettes a hearty texture.

These taste a lot like Indian bajjis that are made with chickpea flour. The main difference is that bajjis are deep fried and these croquettes are shallow fried. They fit perfectly into a pita pocket and taste great with the Greek salad topping and the tzatziki sauce. This makes a very filling and wholesome meal.

Recipe from Vegetarian Times magazine:

Ingredients:
For the Croquettes:

Chickpea flour/ Besan - 1cup

Chickpeas - 1½cups (or 1 15oz. canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed)

Red bell pepper - 1 small, finely chopped
Garlic - 2 cloves, minced
Fresh Parsley - ¼cup, finely chopped
Lemon juice - 2tbsp
Olive Oil - 1tbsp
Ground Cumin - 1tsp
Chili powder - 1tsp
Salt - to taste

For the Topping:
Cucumber - 1 medium, sliced
Tomatoes - 2 medium, seeded and chopped (or use 1cup cherry tomatoes)
Green Onions - 2, chopped
Lemon juice - 2tbsp
Olive Oil - 1tbsp
Feta Cheese - for serving
Salt & Pepper - to taste

Tzatziki Sauce - for topping

Method:

• To make the Topping: Combine cucumber, tomatoes, green onions, lemon juice and oil in a bowl. Stir in feta cheese, if using. Season with salt and pepper and keep ready.
• To make Croquettes: In a mixing bowl, combine chickpea flour, cumin, chili powder and salt. Whisk in ¾ cup hot water. Stir in the other ingredients and season with salt and pepper.
• Heat 1tbsp oil in a nonstick skillet; scoop about 3tbsp dollops of chickpea mixture into skillet, and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook 3~4 minutes or until golden. Flip and cook 3~4 minutes more. Repeat with remaining chickpea mixture.
• Serve each croquette topped with the topping and drizzle some of tzatziki sauce.

Linking this to Valli's 'Cooking from Cookbook Challenge: September -- Week 3'.