A falafel evening...

Have I told you, that I love  to cook, try out new recipes...I love to have people over and cook them delish food. I love making everything at home and from scratch! A day or two before a party, I am usually talking to my aunts or browsing on the internet for some delish recipes. Since I am from Bombay, India, I have been exposed to different types of cuisines. Be it  Punjabi khana, a Gujarthi or Maharastrian thali, or Malayali or Sindi food...I love them all. I firmly belive, that one should at sometime, have had the taste of the authentically cooked dish, to understand the taste and imbibe it, into onself. Once you have that, one can cook and add the ingredients and strive  to achieve that imbibed taste. I love to experiment, add ingredients or spices as the mood takes over though, if it is traditional cooking, I am very particular on the spices and even the way the vegetables are cooked or the accompanying dishes. And yes, beyond all this, I believe, one needs to add a large spoonful of love into a dish to get that special flavor or aroma...

Now last Friday, I had some friends come over for some tea and snacks, followed by dinner. Tea was Masala Chai, served in my special indian Chai mugs...and I made some Falafels to go with the Chai.

Falafels - made of split green gram and chole or garbano beans in the proportion of 2:1. The beans are soaked in water, and later ground coarsely, with parsely, cilantro. Salt added to taste. In case,the batter turns watery, add pieces of bread....deep  fry in oil. You can also bake them...

Green sauce: Sour cream+parsley+salt+lemon juice+Dhaniya-jeera powder(Cumin + Cilantro seeds). Puree the mixture...

Red hummus: Roasted Redpeppers+small portion of garbano beans (keep some away from your falafel mixture)+ lemon juice+parsely+Olive oil+ground pepper+salt+Dhaniya-jeera powder(Cumin + Cilantro seeds). Puree the mixture...

Fillers: Cut onions, lettuce, tomatoes into thin slices...

I like to arrange the veggies on a lettuce leaf, place the falafel on top and dress it with the sauces. roll the sides like a lettuce wrap and enjoy the delicious food...

Amongst other refreshments, I always have a jug of water...with some slices of lemon+Tulsi leaves+Mint leaves. Trust  me the water is so refreshing, especially during the summers...

Now, dont forget to have Chaas or the watery yogurt drink if it is an Indian meal and during summers... There are many flavors you can add...Pepper+salt+ground ginger or sugar+salt or salt+asafoetida or add the seasoning of mustard and cumin seeds+salt+ asafoetida...

And yes, it is lovely to have mitha paan or the lovely betel nut or fennel mixtures at the end of an Indian meal...

 

Do you love to cook?...do share some receipes...

Adios until nextweek...

~Anpu