Falafel

When I came to US in 2007, HE took me to Sahara Grill, a small Mediterranean restaurant in Philadelphia downtown. He was bit scared whether I would like the food or not. But I loved it and now it has become a rule to visit Sahara Grill whenever we go to Philly. Unfortunately, we do not find many options for this category of food in NJ (Except Maos). So I was determined to make this recipe perfect, at least for our taste.

Yields 25-30 balls
Preparation Time: 15 Minute + soaking time
Cooking Time: 30 Minute

Ingredients
1-cup chickpeas
2 medium onions
2-3 cloves of garlic
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp fresh cilantro
3-4 tbsp fresh parsley
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup plain flour
Salt-pepper as per taste

Procedure
1. Soak chickpeas for about 6-8 hours and pressure cook them
2. Mix chickpeas, onions, garlic, cumin, cilantro and parsley and grind into a thick paste (try to grind without water, water absorbed by chickpeas is enough to grind a paste)
3. Add salt, pepper and lemon juice to the paste
4. Add flour to paste and fry the balls. In case, balls break or do not come out crunchy, add some more flour

How to Serve
1. Take pita bread and cut it with paring knife to make a pocket
2. Add Hummus, couple of falafel balls, yogurt dressing (salt, garlic and green onions) and salad (lettuce, cucumber and tomato)