Falafel (Eggless, Lower fat recipe)

Blogging Marathon# 33: Week 1/ Day 2
Theme: Combo Dishes - Tikkis/ Burgers
Dish: Falafel with Pita

Officially it is Fall season in our neck of woods, but it feels like summer for the past couple of days. Not that I'm complaining, but I had planned to make baked falafel for day 2 of BM# 33 and had to change plans and shallow fry them because I didn't want to turn on the oven. Baked or fried these falafel are crispy on the outside and soft in the middle. We had these for lunchl served with store bought pita bread, creamy tahini sauce and crispy lettuce and cucumber salads. 

I already have a recipe for falafel that has egg in it and I've been looking for a recipe that doesn't have any egg and does not use as much oil. So when I saw this recipe @ Cookie and Kate, I knew I had to try this recipe. It is super simple to put together. Interestingly the recipe uses soaked chickpeas that do not need to be cooked, that saves time and is much more convenient.

I was a little skeptical on how the uncooked chickpeas would taste when cooked, but they pureed to a nice smooth paste and cooked perfectly. We stuffed them into mini wholewheat pita breads along with shredded lettuce, cucumber salad and topped with creamy tahini sauce (½ cup each of tahini & yogurt mixed with ground cumin, salt & pepper, lemon juice).  

Ingredients:
Chickpeas - 1cup, washed, rinsed and soaked in water for at least 6hours or overnight
Red Onion - 1 small, chopped
Garlic - 2 cloves, chopped
Red chili powder - ½tsp
Ground Cumin - 1tsp
Jalapeno - 1 small, chopped
Parsley - ½cup, chopped
Cilantro - ½cup, chopped
Lemon zest - 2tsp
Lemon juice - 2tsp
Salt - to taste

Other Ingredients:
Pita breads - 4~6
Lettuce - shredded
Cucumber - 1 small, deseeded and diced
Red Onion - 1 small, finely chopped
Hummus - as needed
Harissa - as needed

Method:

• Make the Falafel: Combine all the ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth. Divide the mixture into equal lemon size balls. Flatten them into patties and set aside,
• Heat 3tbsp oil in a pan, add the falafel and cook them on medium flame until golden brown on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. Remove onto paper towel lined plate.
• To Serve: Open the pita pocket, spread the inside with hummus and fill it up with the choice of your fillings and falafel. Serve and enjoy immediately!!

Lets check out what my fellow marathoners have cooked up today for BM# 33.