Baked Falafel

This is a healthier version of falafel. I tried baking the falafels in my muffin pan instead of deep deep-frying them. This can make a wholesome meal along with some pita bread and hummus and can be enjoyed without guilt. I got the idea from here

Instead of hummus, I made tzatziki a cucumber-yogurt dip to go long with the falafel. Will post the recipe soon. It was really refreshing and we had a simple and nutritious dinner!


Ingredients

Chickpeas/Garbanzo beans - 1 cup ( to be soaked overnight) or 1 can drained
Onion - 1/2
Fresh Parsley - 1 cup loosely packed
Garlic - 2 cloves
Whole Wheat Flour - 2 tablespoons
Baking powder - 1 teaspoon
Cumin powder - 1 tablespoon
Coriander powder - 1/4 tablespoon
Chilli powder - 1 teaspoon
Olive oil - 2 spoons
Salt and Pepper to taste


Directions

Soak the chickpeas overnight in water. It should double in size. Alternatively, you could use the canned ones. Drain the liquid.
In a blender, add all the ingredients together and blend to form a coarse and chunky mixture.
Transfer the mixture to a bowl and cover it with a damp cloth and allow it to rest for half an hour. it would rise a bit.
Take a muffin pan and grease with oive oil or cooking spray.
Take a tablespoonful of the mixture and place in each muffin pan. You can use an icecream scoop for easier shaping. You could also use a cookie/baking sheet instead of the muffin pan alternatively. i used the muffin pan since it gives a good shape to the falafels.
Do not put too much batter in each falafel. Keep it thin so that it turns out crispy.

Bake at 375F in a preheated oven for about 30 minutes, flipping the falafels half way through.
In the final two minutes turn the oven to broiling mode in order to get crispy falafels. Take care they do not burn.


Enjoy with pita n hummus!

Sending this to MLLA: Eighteenth Helping hosted by Srivalli and started by Susan

Other middle eastern recipes in my blog:
Falafel (deep fried version)
Hummus
Lavash and Falafel Wrap
Cumin Hummus
Baklava
Piroshki / Pierogi / Potato Pies

My Blog Roll

This is my blogroll..
Leave a comment if you want your blog to be added here. (Only foodblogs please)
Also please add mine to yours!

A Life(Time) of Cooking

A Mad Tea Party

A2ZVegetarian Cooking

Aayi's Recipes

Akshayapatram

Ambika's Kitchen

Ammupatti's Thoughts

Annapurna

Anubhavati

Aroma

Being Chelsea

Beyond Curries

Bong Mom's Cookbook

Carrots N' Cake

Chef In You

Churning the Word Mill

Chutki Bhar Pyar

Cook Like a Bong

Cook with Love

Cookery Corner

Cooking for all Seasons

Cooking Escapades

Cooking with Swapna

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Cooking Pleasures

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Delectable Vegetarian Recipes

Dishes from my kitchen

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Easy to cook recipes

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Happy Cooking!!

Show Me your Lunchbox Roundup

Hi everyone! I am here finally with the roundup of the Show me Your lunchbox! event..
Thanks everyone for showing me your lovely lunchboxes. I will never have to think of ideas for lunchboxes hereafter.

Also do send in your cake entries for Show Me your Cake! event..

Sumana








Shri


















Cool Lassie


















Yasmeen












Kanchan












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Supriya









Radhika Vasanth












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Lavi












Divya









Ramya









Lata Raja























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Padhu

















Sanghi












































Raks









Shama

























































Check out the roundups of the previous editions..
Show Me Your Breakfast Part I
Show Me Your Breakfast Part II
Show Me Your Sandwich
Show Me Your Omelette

Andhra murukku/Ring Murukku/Chekodi/Chegodilu for ICC

This is my first time I made this crunchy South Indian snack. I remember my grandma making this during festivals. This has various names whatever it may be called, it is something you can keep munching on along with a hot cuppa tea!
When Srivalli announced this months Indian Cooking Challenge, I was scared to try this out since I have never tried many deep fried snacks earlier. But this was a sure hit in our household and I will be making this often.

Coming to the recipe as given by Valli..

Ingredients

Rice flour - 3/4 cup
All purpose flour/ Maida - 1/4 cup
Ghee - 2 tablespoon
Ajwain - 1/4 teaspoon
Cumin seeds - 1/4 teaspoon
Sesame seeds - 1/4 teaspoon
Red chilli powder - 1/4 tsp
Turmeric really a pinch
Salt as per taste
Oil to deep fry

Directions
Boil 1 cup water in a bowl, add salt to it.

When the water starts boiling, remove from stove, add ajwain, red chilli powder, turmeric and flours. Stir with a ladle to make sure it is mixed well. Pour ghee on it and cover.

Once it cools, knead it to form smooth dough.

Pinch out small balls of dough and roll them like threads between your palm, bring the ends together to form into small rings.

Heat oil in a heavy bottomed vessel. Check if the oil is in the correct temperature, by dropping a tiny bit into the oil. Then gently slide the rings or the chakodis in batches of 4 -5. The flame has to be on high until the chakodis come up to the surface, then lower the flame to medium and cook till you get a golden colour on the chakodis.
When the chakodis are golden all over, using a slotted ladle, remove to a kitchen towel and cool. Store in an air tight container for longer shelf life.

Munch along with tea!!
Sending this to WYF:Teatime snack hosted by EC.

Show Me Your Cake!

After the edition of Show Me Your Lunchbox, I am here with another interesting event - Show Me Your Cake! This being a festive and holiday season, there is always a reason to bake delicious cakes.
Hoping to receive some pretty cake entries!

Here are the guidelines to send in your cake entries.

• Bake a cake and post it on your blog during the event (December 14-Jan 15). If you already have an entry posted, please reposted it during the above period and link back to this announcement.
• You can send in a maximum of five entries.
• Eggs are allowed. You can send in any type of cake. You can also send in cakes made using microwave or pressure-cooker.

Email me the following details to divyablogs[AT]gmail[DOT]com before January 15th.
Name:
Blog name:
Name of recipe:
Recipe URL:
Picture of cake: (any size)

I will be posting the roundup of Show Me Your lunchbox soon. You can also have a look at the earlier editions.
Show Me Your Breakfast Part I
Show Me Your Breakfast Part II
Show Me Your Sandwich
Show Me Your Omelette

Fruit Custard

This is one of the easiest and tastiest Indian desserts you can make. It is super healthy since you could any amount of your favorite fruits in it. Gets ready in a jiffy and sounds perfect after a heavy meal. Could be made year around with any seasonal fruits available.


Ingredients
Custard powder - 3 tablespoons
Milk - 3 cups
Sugar - 1/2 cup or as desired
Diced fruits - 3 cups or more (apples, banana, oranges, kiwi, pomegranate, strawberries, mangoes etc.)

Directions
In half a cup of milk mix together the custard powder until it dissolves.
In a heavy bottomed vessel, heat the remaining milk and bring it to a boil. Add in the sugar and stir once in a while until it dissolves.
Slowly add the custard-milk mixture and stir it a little. Simmer and keep stirring for about 5 minutes until it thickens and coats the spoon.
Remove from heat and allow it to cool completely.
Add any amount of diced fruits and refrigerate.

Serve chilled! It is that simple!
Sending this to Food for seven stages of life:Desserts , Pastries and Icecreams hosted by Radhika and Sudeshna.

Also Sending this fruit custard to FIL:Fruits along with the following recipes!
Pomegranate jam/preserve
Eggless banana oatmeal muffins
Crumbly Apple Crisp
Peanut butter and banana smoothie



Watermelon Lemonade
Honeydew melon-kiwi cooler
Blackberry smoothie



Fruit cake
Blueberry muffins
Dates milkshake
Spiced Mango Bread

Guacamole

This is one of the best, easy and healthy dips to enjoy I would say. I have always enjoyed it in mexican restaurants and this is the first time I made it at home. I followed Alton brown's recipe from Food Network. It can be used as a dip or as a spread in sandwiches. We had it with some tortilla chips.

Ingredients
Avocados - 3
Lemon juice - from one lemon
Tomato - 2 small sized
Onion - 1/2 finely chopped
Coriander/cilantro - 1 tablespoon chopped
Garlic - 1 teaspoon minced
Ground cumin powder - 1 teaspoon
Green chillies - 2 minced
Salt to taste

Directions
Halve ,peel and deseed the avocados. In a bowl place the avocados and lemon juice. Add al the ingredients together and using a potato masher mash the ingredients to form a chunky dip. Season with salt.
Allow to rest for about 30 minutes in a refrigerator and then enjoy. Keep it covered since it oxidizes easily.
Enjoy!