Falafel with Roasted Red Pepper Thahini

Thanks to blogging that has given me the chance to meet some like minded good hearts. While some are for the virtual world ,the rest are for the real world, I mean friends for life. Earlier Dolphia from storyofcooks came up with a sudden spark of themed post.Later,I , Anjana and Subasmitha had  teamed up with her as #KitchenDivas and it has always been a fun filled convo among us. Finally, we had settled on the theme 'Snack '.

Few thoughts came up , but then picked up this ,as this is one of our favorites. Crispy on the out and soft and spongy inside with a medley of flavors is how I describe this.

Sometimes as a munchkeen , sometimes as a patty , Sometimes as a filling in Whole Wheat Pita ,this humble falafel takes different avatars in my kitchen.The Zathar masala that I got from my sister had it's hand in enhancing the flavors here.There is another recipe of Pita from Simi, that works wonderful.

For a healthier choice I usually  bake them but today I settled on deep frying as that is how it is done in Middle East and I know it's once in blue moon I deep fry.

Ingredients

Dry Chickpeas ........................... 1 cup , washed and Soaked for 8 hrs.
Onion ........................................1/2 cup , chopped
Garlic ........................................ 2 tbsp , chopped
Zathar ........................................ 1 tbsp , see notes for alternate choice
Red chilli Powder / Cayenne ........... 1 tsp
Baking Powder .............................3/4 tsp
Parsley ........................................ 1/4 cup
Coriander Leaves .......................... 2 tbsp
Lemon juice ................................... 1 tsp
Salt .............................................. to taste
Olive oil ....................................... 1 tsp
All Purpose Flour .......................... about a tbsp
Oil ............................................ to fry

Method

Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan / kadai over medium heat.
Drain the chickpeas and make a course paste without adding water.
Add onion, garlic, parsley and coriander leaves and give it a whirl by adding the lemon juice and olive oil.
Now stir in the chilli powder , Zathar, baking powder and salt.
Add in the APFlour .
Mix everything well and check the batter by making a small ball, incase you are not getting that together, just add another tsp of APF.
Make small balls of even size , slightly flatten them up.
Fry them in batches.

If you prefer Baked Version , Bake at 400 F 12 minutes each side .

Roasted Red Pepper Thahini

White Sesame seeds .................... 1/4 cup, toasted
Lemon juice ...............................1/2 tsp to 1 tsp (adjust to taste)
Salt .......................................... to taste
Olive oil ................................... 1 tsp
Red Bell Pepper ......................... 1 small.
Pepper ...................................... 1/2 tsp

Method

Wash and slice the pepper into big pieces.
Heat a griddle on medium high.
Apply some oil on the pepper pieces.
Grill them until the skin is browned.
Remove them from heat and cover with a bowl.
After 5 minutes, peel off the skin  and blend with rest of the ingredients.


Notes

If you don't have Zathar , substitute with 1 tsp of toasted sesame seeds and a bit of dry herbs like parsley  , thyme .