SPICY FALAFEL

Falafel are chick pea cutlets/ patties from the Middle east. I have prepared them here with a different spicy twist and kid friendly too. It came out very well to the extent that my Husband could'nt find out the major ingredient and almost got cheated thinking that these are "Mutton" cutlets. The major ingredient is chick pea which is a good source of protein,vitamin and very rich in fibre.

CHICKPEAS

Ingredients:

2 cups of cooked chickpeas(I have used the brown one, you can use the white one as well, tin chickpea is also good)

1 onion

1 Tbspn chilli powder

1 Tbspn turmeric powder

1 Tbspn garam masala powder

1 bunch Cilantro/coriander leaves

2 Tbspn grated Mozarella cheese

50 gms of cream cheese
Oil to brush on the patties

Salt to  taste

1. Grind the chickpeas in a blender coarsely as shown below.

2. Add all the spices,  onion,cheese, cilantro and salt and mix well.

 3. Spread the dough on a flat surface and cut them to your desired shape with a cookie cutter.

4. Place little cream cheese between the cut shapes and brush the patties with oil. Close with a lid and allow it to cook for 10 minutes under very low fire.

Although there are other option of  shallow frying I opted to prepare them like tikkas with little oil and then cover the pan with a lid to get it done.

You can enjoy this as such like a snack with some ketchup or place them in the burger/ pitta bread and enjoy with Tzatziki(Greek and Turkish sauce)

For Tzatziki:

1 cucumber

1/2 Tspn lemon juice

1 Tbspn chopped mint leaves

1 garlic clove

1 cup of curd/ plain yoghurt

Grate the cucumber and remove all the excess moisture by placing it in a fine cloth like muslin ans squeeze it. Later add the cucumber to the other ingredients and mix well. Serve with Falafel.