Fun Fat Free Falafel that turned out to be more like Chick Pea Kababs!

My parents are usually eat home made North Indian vegetarian food. However with my recent intrusion in their lives they are subject to all my experimentation in the kitchen. With Jai gone to his gaon (village), a ritual that takes place in the month of May and June, I find myself experimenting more and more in the kitchen and cooking my parents some interesting meals. They have been totally cool about trying out the stuff I make.
Funny story about the falafels I made tonight- I'm finding that many of the foreign herbs such as parsley, chives etc. are not as easily available in Thane. I asked my dad to buy some parsley for the falafels. The poor man was sold basil instead of parsley (since he had never seen parsley before). I also bought some  mushroom, garlic hummus, which was a first for them to try. As with anything that they enjoy eating,  I had to plan for my falafels to be spicy and tangy vs. herb infused, warm, simple flavors of tahini, chickpeas and parsley (remember I don't have any parsley at this point).
So ofcourse as my sister says- improvisation is any cook's best friend. The falafel adventure turned more into a spicy kabab dinner. Instead of the traditional parsley I used cilantro (corriander leaves), green chilies and papa's magic masala was introduced to the falafel mix to increase the heat factor. The pita was replaced by parathas and the salad was a nice tangy, limey and spicy mix of onions, tomatoes and green chilies. I made my own version of tatziki sauce and probably the hummus was the only authentic middle eastern item on my dinner menu.

Ingredients for spicy falafels
Chick Peas (2-3 cups)
1/4 bunch Cilantro
Green chilies- according to taste
A thumb size piece of ginger
6-7 cloves of garlic
2 tspn Powdered Cumin
2 tspn Cilantro powder
red chili powder (according to taste)
salt
1/2 cup flour (acts as a binder)
1 tspn baking soda


Soak the chick peas over night.
Par boil them for 10 minutes- they should be soft but crunchy- (skip this step if you are deep frying them)
Blend the chickpeas in small batches in a blender to a bread crumb consistency.
Now blend the cilantro, ginger, green chilies and garlic.

Mix the blended herb mixture, spices, flour and baking soda in the bred crumb like mixture of the chickpeas.
Make small 3 inch diameter patties with the mixture and place them on a hot non-stick skillet with a little olive oil.
Place as many chick pea patties on the skillet and let them cook on low heat (15-20 minutes). This step can be hastened by deep frying- but you know the consequences!
After 15 minutes flip all the falafel on the skillet. They should have a gentle brown skin on them. Cook the other side for 15-20 minutes as well on low heat.

Now the falafel are ready to serve.

For the tatziki sauce:
Drain yogurt in a strainer for a couple of hours till you are left with a soft cheesy consistency. Add minces garlic, cucumber, salt and pepper ( pssst...I added some green chilies as well.

Decorate the store bought hummus with chick peas and olive oil and some paprika

Now for the finish:
Serve these falafel babies with parathas and fresh salad (onions, tomato, chilies, lime and papa's magic masala)
Spread the tatziki and hummus on the paratha. Place two pieces of falafel. Squeeze some lime on the falafel. Place as much salad on the falafel. Roll and enjoy.

P.S. Make extra falafels- they make excellent leftovers. Great as a burger in whole wheat buns and garlicy tatziki. Mmmmmm!

Sunday Morning Brunches...

Something about a lovely lazy Sunday morning brunch.  I think lazy weekend brunching is a phenomena of our generation. After an intense work week spend Sunday with friends at a local brunch place with eggs, potatoes and lots of coffee followed by a Bloody Mary. Aaah brunches. I love to cook my Sunday brunches- French toasts, scrambled eggs, Alton Brown style omelets (the perfect omelet recipe), pancakes, bacon, sausages, potatoes done in a variety of ways, an array of cheeses, fresh salsa, bread, muffins.... Oh it goes on. Slightly hungover from drinking on a Saturday night, Sunday brunches have much to promise. Its a reminder the rest of the day is slow and easy till Sunday night when you sigh and say- I hate Mondays.
Below is brunch that I made at Rick and Shagun's place in New York City. A full menu- Spanish omelet, bacon, plantains, fruit salad, toast, coffee and mimosas.

For Spanish Omelet:
5-6 eggs beaten well (serves 4-5, depending on how much they eat)
1 Onions chopped
1 Green Chilies
20 Mushrooms roughly chopped
1 potato diced
Minced garlic
Thin slices of tomato
Cheese of your choice- mine was sharp cheddar
Spices: Coriander powder, turmeric pwd, red chili pwd, chat masala, salt
Oven friendly pan or skillet
Add some olive oil in the skillet and warm it on the stove top. In the meantime warm the over to 400 degrees. Stir in the garlic, onions and green chilies.
Let the Onions sweat, add the potatoes and mushrooms and stir.
Add the spices and mix well
Let the onions, potatoes and mushrooms cook for 5 minutes. Stirring occasionally.
Spread the mix evenly in the pan. Now slowly pour the beaten eggs evenly in the skillet.
Grate in the cheese. Do not stir or mix. Turn the heat to low.
Now place the pan in the oven and let it cook for 20 minutes.
As the eggs begin to cook, place the slices of tomatoes on the top and let them brown in the oven.

In the meantime prep the bacon and place them on a baking sheet. Place the baking sheet in the over and let the bacon cook till it is a perfect reddish brown.


For the Plantains:
Ingredients:
Minced garlic
1 green chili
2-3 plantains thinkly sliced
Salt pepper and chili flakes according to taste
Warm Olive Oil in a pan. Throw in the green chilis, garlic and let it splutter for a few second. Add the plantains in a single layer.
Flip the pieces as the brown up. Careful not to stir the plantains or they become mushy.
Add salt and pepper and mix.

For fruit salad. Cut fresh fruits (bite size). Stir in a tablespoon of condensed milk.

So for the finish:
Almost eaten!
Oh! That with several cups of coffee and glasses of Mimosas.
Love Sunday brunches!!!

Check out this delicious French Omelete recipe on Foodista.com
French Omelet on FoodistaFrench Omelet

Cooking adventures with Meghna, Austin Dec 2009

Oh! And did we have some cravings. One really successful middle of the night experiment.


Things we used -
Puff Pastry sheets
6-7 Apples chopped
Walnuts
Brown sugar
Cinnamon
Butter
Lemon Zest
Orange Zest
Juice of half an orange and lemon
egg white for wash
And some imagination....

For the Apple Filling:
In a pan start with heating some butter.Throw in the chopped apples. Add some brown sugar and cinnamon. Toss in the walnuts- cook on low heat.
When the apples are softened sprinkle the zest and stir in the juice (not too much)

In a square 9"x 9" baking pan lay the first pastry sheet. Cut off the excess that spills over the edge of the an.

Place the apple filling mix on the pastry sheet and cover the filling with the second sheet and trim the excess pastry sheet.

Use the excess trimmings to create decoration. Brush on the egg white and cook in the oven
450 degrees for 20 minutes or till it looks crispy and brown.
Goes perfect with a bottle of wine!
And we sadly did cut our happy guy...
 And while we waited for this delicious treat to be ready my gracious hosts Megs and Rahul played on their respective video games.

For other puff pastry recipes check out Foodista.com
Chocolate Puff Pastry Squares on FoodistaChocolate Puff Pastry Squares