Falafel Pita Bread Recipe

Falafel Pita Bread Recipe

Ingredients

Makes about 40 falafel; 8-10 servings FALAFEL:

• 2½ cups (500g) dried garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
• 31/3 cups (500g) dried split fava beans (broad beans) 6 scallions (spring onions), chopped
• 2 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 2 tsp ground turmeric
• 4 tbsp finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled
• 3 tbsp all-purpose (plain) flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• vegetable oil, for deep-frying

TAHINI SAUCE:

• 1 heaped tbsp tahini, or to taste
• 1 tbsp lemon juice, or to taste
• 3 tbsp plain yogurt, or to taste

Method

1. Pita breads, shredded cabbage, pickled chilies, and pickled turnips, to serve
2. To make the falafel, place the garbanzo beans (chickpeas) and fava beans (broad beans) in a large bowl and cover with about three times their volume of cold water (they wil swel enormously overnight)
3. The next day, drain them and place in the bowl of a food processor along with al the other ingredients (except the vegetable oil for deep-frying)
4. Blend until wel mixed, but the beans stil retain some texture
5. Pour some vegetable oil into a deep frying pan or an electric deep-fat fryer and heat to 350°F (180°C)
6. In the absence of a special falafel shaper (no, I don’t have one either), it’s best to shape them by hand
7. Take a smal handful of the falafel mixture and squeeze it in your fist until it holds together
8. Repeat untillyou have used up al the mixture (to make about 40 falafel)
9. Carefully drop the bal s into the hot oil and cook in batches for a couple of minutes, until golden brown al over
10. Drain on paper towels
11. Keep warm in a low oven while you cook the rest
12. Serve hot
13. To make the tahini sauce, mix together al the ingredients, plus some salt and pepper, taste, and then add more tahini, lemon juice, or yogurt as necessary
14. To assemble each sandwich, lightly toast a pita bread and cut it in half lengthwise, leaving 2 canoe-shaped pockets
15. Stuff each with a little shredded cabbage, some falafel, a drizzle of tahini sauce, a pickled chili, and some pickled turnip
16. Enjoy while fresh and hot!

Full List of Bread Recipes
Full List of Pita-Bread Recipes