Falafel, like hummus, is another food that I loved at first taste. It’s traditionally made of chickpeas, commonly used in Middle Eastern cuisine, made into a ball or patty, then either deep fried, pan fried, or baked. It’s served with flatbread such as pita or lafa, along with other raw vegetables, pickled vegetables and a tahini based sauce.

Falafel is high in protein, complex carbohydrates and fiber. Chickpeas themselves are also low in fat and sodium, contain no cholesterol – if you are using canned chickpeas, you should rinse them thoroughly before use. Other key nutrients are calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, copper, manganese, Vitamin C, thiamine, pantothenic acid, Vitamin B, and folate, with phytochemicals such as beta-carotene.

I decided to experiment with chickpeas by adding other ingredients and using the traditional British condiment mint sauce in the sauce. The good thing is that I could make a big batch, and freeze it, so later when I want to eat it, I can just take it out of freezer and fry it. Even though it was a pure experiment, I found it very tasty, and I love the extra fiber from the wheat bran and oats. If you have kids at home, it would be fun for them to roll the balls and flatten them with their hands. It’s always great to involve kids in cooking, so when they are older they know how to take care of themselves by preparing healthy food.

Kitchen Gadgets: Food Processor

Ingredients

• 2 cans of chickpeas (400g per can)
• ¼ cup (60ml) rolled oats
• ¼ cup (60ml) wheat germ
• ¼ cup (60ml) wheat bran
• ¼ cup (60ml) wholewheat flour
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 stalk of celery
• 2 tsp cumin powder
• 2 tsp coriander seed powder (optional)
• ½ tsp tumeric powder
• 2 tbsp canola oil
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tbsp olive oil for frying

Tahini Mint Sauce

• 6 tbsp soy yogurt
• 1 tbsp mint sauce (see below recipe if you have to make it from scratch)
• 1 tbsp tahini (sesame paste)

Instructions

1. Rinse the chickpeas and set aside. Crush the garlic, dice the celery.
2. Add the oats, wheat germ, wheat bran and flour into the food processor and process for a few seconds to mix.
3. Add the chickpeas, garlic, celery, cumin, coriander seeds, tumeric, canola oil and salt and process until well mixed and becomes a fine mass.
4. Scoop some mixture into ¼ cup, tip it out on to your hand and roll to form a ball, then flatten it between your palms.
5. Freeze them for 20 minutes. You can take the amount you want to eat for frying, but keep the rest frozen.
6. Preheat a stainless steel pan for 1-2 minutes, add 1 tbsp olive oil and turn the pan to coat the bottom evenly, turn to a medium heat, add 2-3 patties, and fry for 10 minutes, or until both sides are nicely browned and crispy.
7. In another bowl, add the yogurt, tahini and mint sauce and mix with a wire whisk.
8. Serve the falafel with fresh vegetables and tahini mint sauce.

How to make mint sauce from scratch

Ingredients

• a bunch of fresh mint leaves
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 4 tbsp water
• 4 tbsp white wine vinegar
• pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Mix all the ingredients in a blender or food processor and process until it becomes smooth and creamy.