User blog:Spicesnaroma/FALAFEL

I made falafels as a side for dinner on Friday and we enjoyed it along with raisin fried rice, grilled veggies and chicken curry. I used the left-over batter to make hot falafels for the game-night. I replaced fava beans with black eyes peas and little green gram. This is my variation of the middle eastern delight -Falafel. They were so crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. The spices blended well together and they tasted absolutely yummy with seasoned tahini sauce. Crispy snacks and lovely friends are the perfect accompaniment for interesting games. Coming weekend, we have Superbowl (NFL) to watch with friends and I am sure I will make falafels again :-)

Ingredients 1 cup raw garbanzo beans/ chickpeas 1 cup raw black eyed beans 1/4 cup raw green gram 1/2 cup onions - finely chopped 3-4 garlic cloves - chopped 2 tbs parsley - chopped 2 tbs coriander leaves - chopped 2tsp coriander powder 2tsp cumin seeds 1tsp baking powder 1- 2tbs all purpose flour Salt and pepper to taste Oil to fry

Method Clean and wash the garbanzo beans, black eyed peas and green gram. Soak the lentils overnight/ 6-8 hours in excess water. Drain and set them aside.

Grind them to a coarse paste in a grinder without water. Mix in all the ingredients and let the mixture sit for 1-2 hours in refrigerator. Bring them down to room temperature and roll them into small balls using a falafel scoop or a spoon or a small ice cream scoop and place over a baking sheet covered with a parchment paper.

Heat 3 inches of oil in a deep cooking vessel (375 degrees). Once the oil gets heated up, first fry 1 ball and if the balls lose shape, add little more flour for maintaining the shape.

Fry them in batches of 6-8 at a time for 2-3 minutes on one side or until they turn golden brown. Drain excess oil and serve with a salad/ pitta bread/tahini sauce/mayonnaise.