Falafel: A Tutorial

Hey you, in the international foods aisle holding the box of falafel mix - yes, you. Put it down! Walk away and go to the bulk bins to pick up some dried chickpeas. Go! After picking up a little of this and some of that, you'll be on your way to creating something that will snub its garlicky nose up at any boxed mix. Plus, I promise it's easy. Just follow these steps and you'll have this on your plate in no time (well, it does take time, but it's worth it).

Baked falafel

Ingredients

- 1 cup dried chickpeas
- 1/2 medium onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/3 cup flour
- 2 tsp cumin
- 1/4 tsp cayenne
- 1/4 cup parsley
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds
- 1 tsp salt
- Cracked pepper, to taste

Tutorial

Step one:

Soak chickpeas overnight in a large bowl with enough water to cover them by at least a few inches.

Step two:

Wake up, rinse and drain your chickpeas and throw them into a large pot with a lot of water. Don't bother measuring, just dump enough water to cover everything. Bring to a boil and simmer for an hour, or until chickpeas are tender.

Step three:


Put all the ingredients, with the exception of the flour and sesame seeds, in the food processor. Process until smooth. Put the mix back into a large bowl and add the flour and sesame seeds. Get your hands in it and mix until just combined. Don't overmix!

Step four:

Let the mix chill in the fridge for at least an hour. After the hour is up, get to making your falafel. Use a 1/4 cup scoop to form uniform balls. I would suggest spraying your scoop with a touch of non-stick spray so you're not beating your palm with it trying to get the falafel patties out. But, whatever works for you is fine.

Step five:

 Preheat your oven to 375 and put the falafel on a greased baking sheet. Bake for 25-30 minutes, flipping halfway through, until they're golden on both sides. You could form these and refrigerate until you're ready to bake; I made them in the afternoon and baked them after class/the gym.

Step six:

FEAST. Serve on pita with the usual accompaniments, or with a side salad. I made a salad with cucumber/roma tomato/red onion/kalamata olives/green bell pepper/parsley and tossed with red wine vinegar, olive oil, S&P and oregano. It was perfection.

Makes 10 falafel

See? It takes some preparation, but I promise you that these taste far better and fresher than a boxed mix and are indeed fun to make. If you're REALLY scrambling for time you can use canned chickpeas, but the texture will change. I can't claim that these are truly "authentic" because they're not fried, but I don't really like fried food, so these are a great alternative.

You have no idea how many times I had to stop myself from calling them "falawesome".

Indian Food Basics

In my opinion, channa masala is the quintessential vegetarian Indian dish. It is usually the first that many people try and the one most associate with vegetarian Indian cuisine. I haven't cooked an Indian dish in a while and when I was thinking of what to make, I realized that I hadn't posted about channa masala on the blog before. I've made crockpot aloo channa before, which is great, but channa masala still holds a place in my heart because it's the dish that made me fall in love with Indian food. That being said, my recipe is great, but nowhere near as good as that found in Indian restaurants. Then again, isn't that always the case? Indian food is never as good when made at home. This is still pretty darn fantastic, though.

Channa masala

Ingredients

- 1/2 large yellow onion, finely chopped

- 1 clove garlic, minced

- 1 jalapeno, de-seeded and minced

- 1 tsp grated ginger

- 1 tbsp fat of choice (Earth Balance, olive oil, canola oil)

- 3 cups cooked chickpeas

- 1 15oz can diced tomatoes

- 1 tbsp tomato paste

- Juice of half a lemon

- 2 tsp curry powder (use your preferred blend, or just add the separate spices in my blend according to taste)

- 1 tsp garam masala

- Salt, to taste

Instructions

- Heat fat in a large pan on medium low heat. Add onions, stir, and cook for 8-10 minutes, or until they begin to turn golden brown.

- Add garlic, ginger and jalapeno and cook for another minute or two. Now, add tomato paste and cook for 2-3 minutes to allow the tomato flavor to intensify.

- Add curry powder and stir to combine. Add diced tomatoes and chickpeas and continue to cook on medium low for 5-10 minutes, or until everything is heated through. At the very last minute, add garam masala and lemon juice and give everything a final stir. Serve with roti or brown rice and try not to sweat too much from the heat (I used one spicy pepper).

Serves 4

I've talked to many people who said that Indian food intimidates them. Recipes tend to include a lot of foreign ingredients and it may seem overwhelming, but don't let it deter you. Actually, Indian food is one of my favorites to prepare because I love the aromas and the beautiful color tumeric adds to anything. Perfecting channa masala is like a gateway to other Indian dishes; I first made this over a year ago and it has taken me months to narrow down a recipe that I find truly delicious. It's also easy and inexpensive to make (I prepared mine in the time it took my rice to cook) and stores beautifully.

Happy Friday!

Light fare

One of my class discussions was canceled this afternoon, so I rushed home hoping to make a green smoothie. However, I realized the hard way that you can't really make a smoothies in a food processor. After I finished cleaning up spilled almond milk and pieces of spinach and blueberries off the floor, I went back to my standby lunch and relaxed for approximately five minutes before heading out again.


Baby carrots, Newman's Own spelt pretzels, blackberries and almond butter. I probably eat my weight in baby carrots every year.

Tonight's dinner was a bit of an experiment for me. When I was an omnivore, I HATED mayonnaise. Absolutely positively hated it. On the rare occasions I consumed it, it had to be the most minimal amount possible. But, for some reason I can't explain, I've been craving some sort of mock mayonnaise-based salad. So, my brain concocted this:


Curry chickpea salad

For the mayonnaise, I used this recipe, but added the cornstarch to 1 tbsp water and added the mixture while the mayonnaise was on the stove. I think it created a smoother texture.

Recipe:
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup chickpeas
- 1-2 tbsp vegan mayonnaise
- Celery, as much as you desire
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 1/2 tsp tumeric
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- S & P, to taste
- 1/2 green onion, garnish

Instructions
- Mash all of the ingredients to desired consistency, put on your favorite bread with your favorite toppings and enjoy!


I put mine on an Ezekiel sprouted English muffin with baby spinach. Also with a side of baked sweet potato fries and steamed asparagus.

The verdict? Delicious! The star here is, in my opinion, the cinnamon. It added a hint of sweetness which wasn't overwhelming at all and contrasted nicely with the other spices. I'm also shocked that I actually liked the vegan mayonnaise. I loved this dish. Simple, easy, and healthy. :)