Moroccan Falafels and A Happy Bday!

I have been quite lazy watching movies and reading past a few days and was not getting any motivation to cook or experiment in the kitchen. Been indulging in dal chawal and achaar (Simple lentils with rice and pickles.Which is not that bad actually!). Today is different and it is a very special day. Today is my very close friend, Amari's bday and I had to post something I had promised her a while back. Yes, the Mediterranean delight-Falafels!
I love the way she is- A quintessential me  :). She writes beautifully-precise,frank and fearless! Do check out her blog for her ramblings.  A Very Happy Birthday to Amari!

I hate statistics but as it seems to be a biggie in blogosphere, I am glad to inform you guys that this is my 200th post. I took over this blog a year and half back from my mom (she used to store in her recipes for me to cook while I traveled to Malaysia, Vietnam and to what not places setting up Wireless Mobile Base stations). Been quite a delight here and thanks to my readers for the encouragement :). This recipe is adapted from a range of recipes I have got from my Arab friends and Arab/Mediterranean restaurants!

Ingredients:-
1/2 a cup of chickpeas soaked overnight. (you may add a combination of 1/4 cup-chickpeas and 1/4 cup-fava beans too)
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped coriander/parsley (imparts the green color to the falafel)
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp crushed coriander seeds
3-4 peppercorns
2-3 green chillies
1 large pod of garlic
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
salt to taste
Extra light olive oil to deep fry

Method:-
Grind the chickpeas,coriander/parsley, garlic, green chillies, peppercorns, coriander seeds, cumin seeds into a thick paste. Use as little water as possible while grinding.
To this paste, add chopped onions, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix well.
Heat the oil until 350 F or medium high.
Make small balls of this paste and use a ladle to drop them off into the oil.
Try frying one falafel for testing the heat. If the falafel gets brown too soon without the inside getting cooked, reduce the heat. If the falafel does not rise up and starts to float as soon as you put it in the oil, increase the heat a little and heat the oil more.
Once the oil is in the right temperature, fry the balls in the batches of 4 until they are light brown on both the sides.
Remove and drain the oil well.
Roll it into a pita bread with a desired salad or as an appetizer with yogurt/hummus.

 

**The green color is due to ground coriander/parsley. You can chop them finely and add them with onions to the ground chickpeas paste if you do not want the green color.