Fit Falafel

Honestly, when is falafel not a good idea?
Probably when you don't wanna share. Good thing, I was
taught to share a lot or Monkey-man would be screwed, man-
Screwed!

Got my fine fillings from TJs and also picked up their
tahini dip. Apparently they don't sell just straight tahini.
But it was damn good anyway- thicker than I'm used to, but no
complaints. Nice and zingy and garlicy!





We tried out the pitas from Fresh and Easy and they were
surprisingly awesome. I hate it when the inside melds
together and they are more like a big soft cracker or
super thick wheat tortilla. But we had just got them
because they were on super cheap and they turned out
to be great.

This is about the extent of my pre-made food purchases
so don't judge me!



I call these 'fit falafel' because they are baked- not fried.
One of my Mom's favorites it became a staple in our house
when I was old enough to seriously cook. But it wasn't until
I started sneaking garlic and onions into the house that I
realized how fudging amazing real homemade falafel was!
So pass up that premade boxed stuff folks get your butts
in gear!

Ingredients

16 ounces chickpeas
1 small onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, diced
1-2 tbsp flour or potato starch (binding purposes)
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp coriander
A squeeze of lemon
and salt and pepper
some wheat germ for rolling

Its so much easier if you actually have a food processor,
but I've always just mashed them by hand. So grab the
nearest fork or machine or potato masher and get to work.
You don't want hummus, so take it easy. Leave some lumpies
in there.

Throw in all your spices and stuff. If it needs some more
liquid to bind, add a little bit of water. Shape into small
patty/balls and roll in some wheat germ. Place on a 'lightly'
grease baking sheet and bake for about 25 minutes at 375F or
until they start to brown.



After that- You know what to do. Stuff the buggers and
chow down!



A jaw dropping addition to the fabulous food that is falafel
is cucumber raita. And if you have never had raita before,
you have not lived. I posted this while ago.
Make it, eat it, love it. Now.

Vegan Cucumber Raita

Raita is a cooling salty yogurt dish or condiment served with spicy

Indian food. Traditionally it would only contain a few spices, mainly

coriander/cilantro. I cannot tell specifically if the cucumber raita is

traditional or not, but often fresh minced vegetable dapple this

creamy dish.

As far as yogurt goes, many dairy yogurts contain gelatin.

I actually created an entire podcast on gelatin, but never got around

to publishing it. Briefly, if you didn't know gelatin is the boiled tendons

and collagen of animal bones (or boiled skins) and is used a thickener.

I know that stonyfield, nancys, and wallaby(?) do not use gelatin,

but they are dairy products. So go the whole way I say. I used to use

stonyfield or the wallaby one when I still consumed dairy products.

Yet they always seemed runy or too wet. I now use (and rave about)

Wholesoy & Co., a diary-free soygurt. It contains live active cultures

and soymilk and tastes better than dairy yogurt if you ask me.

AND! Quite often it is cheaper than diary yogurt. I believe the organic

dairy yogurts range from 3.99-4.99 at my local health food store

and the soy-based yogurt is usually 3.39 when it is not on sale.

So! On to the freakin food already. The other night I made a big feast

of falafel, curried couscous, and raita. Man, falafel is one of my favorites

and right up there with curry. I will post a whole entry on my tricks

to making a better, healthier falafel. But right now... Raita.

I use a combination of two recipes from Madhur Jaffrey's World of the

East: Vegetarian Cooking. This is really a bang up book and I highly

suggest trying to find it. I think the original publication is from '81 or

something though.

If there are no kids partaking I throw in a little cayenne to add a

little kick.

Cucumber Raita

2 cups of soygurt

1 cucumber, diced (you can peel it if you wish, but I do not)

1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, minced

3/4 tsp sea salt

1 tsp cumin powder

1/4 cup raisins (preferably golden)

3 tablespoons of chopped walnuts

a little black pepper

Place soygurt in a bowl and beat until creamy.

Add all the remaining ingredients and serve!

I serve it in pita pockets with falafel, but I love eating it alone.

I swear this is one of the things that got me through my last

year of undergrad. But it is better to not let it sit to long

before eating. The earliest I could make it was late late the

night before I'd go to school. The raisins tend to get mushy

from the moisture and the cucumbers release water that

may cause separation.