Hummus and Falafel

Hummus and Falafel

I fell in love with these two middle eastern dishes from the first time I tasted them at a small restaurant called Beirut in London. Since shifting to India, I have been trying to recreate them.You can have these with pita bread to make a complete meal.

Below is my version with ingredients widely available in India. Some of the substitutes that I made are as below:
* Roasted sesame seeds for Tahini sauce.
* Coriander instead of Parsley.
* Dried chickpeas instead of can of chickpeas.

Hummus

My family's all-time favourite sandwich spread and dip. A good and healthy source of protein.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of dried chickpeas .
4 tsp of sesame seeds
1 tsp lemon juice
1 clove garlic (roughly chopped)
2 tbsp olive oil (preferably extra virgin oil)
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste

Method:

1. Soak the chickpeas overnight.
2. Boil the soaked chickpeas with salt in pressure cooker for 3 whistles (cook until soft).
3. Dry roast the sesame seeds over low flame.
4. Once the cooked chickpeas is cooled down, grind the chickpeas, roasted sesame seeds, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, little pepper and garlic. Use the water (used for cooking chickpeas) to get the desired consistency (thick smooth paste) by adding little at a time and grinding.
5. Taste and adjust the salt, pepper and lemon juice accordingly.

Falafel

These are traditionally deep fried balls made of chickpeas and greens. I have used the paniyaram pan to fry these balls as these use less oil. 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup dried chickpeas

1 small onion

1 cup coriander 

1 tbsp olive oil

1 green chilly

1-2 tbsp flour 

2 cloves garlic

Salt to taste

pepper to taste

Oil to fry

Method:

1. Soak the chickpeas overnight.
2. Grind all the ingredients except flour to form a thick paste. 
3. Add flour as needed to ensure the consistency is thick but not doughy.
4. Refrigerate for 15 mins (This makes the paste easier to manage).
5. Heat the paniyaram pan (available in amazon) and add little oil in each hole.
6. Put the falafel paste in each hole and close the lid. 
7. Once it is cooked on one side, flip it over and add oil if needed.
8. Once both sides are cooked, remove it from the pan. 
9. Repeat till all the paste is finished.