How about try a different cuisine for dinner – falafel, saffron basmati rice and yummy dips of harissa, tzatziki and hummus. I have only tasted these things at a restaurant, but it is very easy to make restaurant style falafel, hummus, harissa and tzatziki at home. All my recipes are inspired from kitchn.com. I love the falafel bowl in the restaurant Cava back in the US. It was one of my go to restaurants, I miss it dearly after moving back to India. This was one of the reasons to try out the falafel bowl at home !
- https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-the-best-falafel-at-home-234559
- https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-hummus-from-scratch-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-107560
- https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-cool-creamy-greek-tzatziki-sauce-242609
- https://mealplannerpro.com/member-recipes/Cava-Style-Harissa-888142
Falafel Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups dried chickpeas
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lemon, freshly squeezed
- 1/8 cup all purpose flour
- 1/8 cup corn flour or corn starch
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp baking powder
- Salt, to taste
- Oil, for frying
Method
- Soak the chickpeas overnight. Add enough water to cover the chickpeas. The chickpeas will double in size by next morning
- Place the drained chickpeas, garlic, finely chopped onion, cilantro, olive oil, lemon juice, coriander and cumin powder, salt and baking powder in a large bowl and mix well to combine
- Pulse the chickpea mixture in a food processor or blender and blend coarsely. The mixture should form a ball when you place it in your hand
- Mix the all purpose flour , corn flour with some water and make a thick paste
- Shape the mixture into balls and roll into the flour paste
- Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat
- Gently place 4-6 falafel in the skillet (depends on the size of your skillet) and deep fry until deep golden brown on all sides
- Drain on a paper towel lined colander and let it cool for sometime
Tzatziki Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cup plain greek yogurt
- Freshly squeezed juice from 2 large lemons
- 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves , finely chopped
- A handful of cilantro, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
- 1 medium cucumber
- Salt, to taste
Method
- Place the yogurt, lemon juice, mint, cilantro, oil, garlic, salt and pepper in a large bowl and combine
- Grate the cucumber and squeeze to remove the excess water
- Fold in the cucumber in the yogurt mixture
- Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve
Harissa
- 5-6 large tomatoes
- 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1-2 red chilly
- 1 tsp freshly ground pepper
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- Salt, to taste
Method
- Bring the tomatoes to a boil and cook well. Peel the skin and puree the tomatoes
- In a large skillet, heat the olive oil, add the minced garlic, chilly and pepper and saute for a 1-2 minutes
- Add the pureed tomatoes and salt to the skillet and stir gently until the ingredients are well combined
- Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer and cook for 30-40 minutes until you get a thick paste like texture. After 30 minutes, add water/spices to adjust the consistency and taste
Hummus
- 1 1/2 cups dried chickpeas
- Juice of 2 lemons
- 1/4 tsp cumin powder
- 1 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup tahini
- 1/2 cup white sesame seeds
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- Salt, to taste
- Method:
- Toast the raw sesame seeds for about 5 minutes, until they are lightly colored (not brown)
- Coarsely grind the sesame seeds in a blender for 2-3 minutes until the sesame seeds form a crumbly paste
- Add the oil to the food processor and grind until it reaches a smooth paste like consistency. Add more oil if needed
- Transfer the tahini to an air tight container until ready to use
Method
- Soak the chickpeas overnight in sufficient water
- Cook the chickpeas well and reserve the cooking liquid
- Grind all the ingredients for the hummus, adding some cooking liquid as needed to make a nice creamy paste
- Scrape the hummus into a bowl and sprinkle with some more olive oil and cumin powder
Saffron basmati rice
- 1.5 cups basmati rice
- 3 cups water
- 1/4 tsp saffron threads
- Juice of one lemon
- Grated lemon zest
- 1 tbsp oil
- A few cloves
- Salt to taste
Method
- Mix the saffron with 2-3 tbsp of warm milk and keep aside
- Soak the basmati rice in water for 20 minutes
- Heat oil in a pan and add the cloves
- Drain the rice and fry for a few minutes
- Add the lemon zest and stir well
- Pour in the water and bring to a boil
- Cover and cook for 20-30 minutes on low-medium heat until the rice is well cooked
- Once cooked, fluff up the rice gently using a fork
- Drizzle the lemon juice over the rice
Note: The hummus, harissa and tzatziki will last you for more than one serving. So after using them for making the bowl, you can use it as a dip for pita, pita chips or whatever you like !
To make the falafel bowl
Break a few falafel into 3-4 pieces. Combine a portion of rice with the falafel, harissa, tzatziki and hummus. You can also add some tomatoes, onion, lettuce, grated carrot to the rice mixture. Enjoy !
