Falafel

The first thing I tried in Mediterranean Cuisine was Falafel. Although I had tasted Falafel earlier in India, I liked it only after tasting it here in US - a more traditional version with Pita, Tzatiki dip, Humus, spicy red chutney and salad.

It's a good starter for any party. And recipe is very easy - read on to believe it.

Prep Time : 10 minutes

Cooking Time : 40 minutes

 Ingredients

1 Cup Chickpea/Garbanzo beans/Chole Chana

1 tablespoon Gram flour

1 tablespoon Corn Flour

1 tablespoon Coriander leaves/cilantro

1 tsp red chilli powder

1 tsp turmuric powder

1 tsp garam masala (optional)

1 tsp crushed green chilis

1 tsp crushed ginger (optional)

1 tsp chopped garlic

1 small chopped onion

 Salt to taste

for tempering (optional)

dried red chilis

mustard seeds

sesame seeds

coarsely crushed groundnuts.

Soak Chick peas for atleast 18 hours.  You can also buy boiled garbanzo tins from the market.  Remove the water from the peas and then crush them - not too fine or too coarse. Add all the other ingredients and mix well to form a batter. 

Now prepare the tempering. Tempering is totally optional. Authentic falafel doesn't have tempering. I am just giving it an Indian touch by adding Indian spices, ground nuts and sesame seeds tempering. Add the tempering to the batter.

There are two options to make falafel : deep fry or bake.

To Deep fry: heat oil, make small ice-cream scoop sized balls from the batter and try frying 1 ball first. If it falls apart, add little corn flour.  Fry until golden brown in color. Drain on paper towel.

To Bake: preheat the oven at 350 degree F. Take a deep baking tray. Slightly brush with oil and place the balls in the tray a little apart from each other. Cover the tray with a aluminum foil. Allow them to bake for 20-25 minutes.
I like to use the cup cake tray for baking. After around 20-25 minutes, flip the falafel and place them again uncovered for another 20 minutes or so until they are properly cooked and golden brown in color.

Serve with Tzatiki, salad and/or with pita pockets.

Delectable Apple Strudel

Apple Strudel

Hello Everyone,  i am back after a long break.

I have lot of recipes to share,  but since its Christmas time, i am sharing a quick and easy apple strudel recipe.

Prep. Time : 40 mins
Cooking Time : 30 mins

Ingredients
1 big apple
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4th cup sugar
1/4th cup oats
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp butter
Phyllo sheets

Remove the skin and cut the apple into half inch pieces. Add lemon juice and cinnamon and toss the apples to mix them well. Add some extra cinnamon powder if you like to have strong cinnamon flavor. Lemon juice prevents the apples from changing colour. Leave them aside for half an hour. 

 

Heat a pan and add half of the butter. Once the butter is melted add oats and mix them well. Turn off the heat. Add sugar and apple mixture. Mix everything properly and set aside. 

Preheat the oven at 350 degree F.

Now butter one sheet of phyllo and place another sheet above the same. Butter the second sheet. Repeat this one more time. This means now you have 3 sheets in total one above the other.  With the short side facing you, spoon the apple mixture onto the bottom part of the sheet leaving around 1 inch margin at the bottom.  Fold half inch of sheet from both the sides and roll up like a jelly roll. Place the seam- side down onto the baking sheet.  Brush with butter.

Bake the strudel for around 30 minutes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired. Now the most difficult part, allow the strudel to cool for around 20 minutes. 

You can make a single strudel in big size & cut into pieces for serving.  Or  you may also make multiple small serving size strudels. You can also use puff pastry instead of phyllo sheets.

Please feel free to post your comments and reviews.