• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • About
    • My Story
    • Portfolio
    • Subscribe!
    • Privacy policy
  • Recipes
    • By Diet
      • Vegetarian
      • Vegan
      • Gluten-free
    • By Series
      • 5 Ingredients or less
      • Table for two
      • BAKED not Fried
      • On-screen Food
    • By Meal
      • Breakfast
      • Appetizers
      • Lunch/Dinner
      • Desserts
      • Sauces and curry
      • Drinks & Beverages
      • Snacks
      • Dips and Sides
  • Resources
    • For Bloggers
    • Travelogue
    • Kitchen Wisdom
  • Perspective
  • Green Life
  • Shop
  • Contact

Love is in my Tummy

Plant-based flavor

April 6, 2016 By Tina Dawson Leave a Comment

Baked Falafel with Cilantro Sauce

Try these {VEGAN} Baked Falafel smothered in a spicy Cilantro Yogurt Sauce all stuffed into a warm Pita bread pocket!
Try these {VEGAN} Baked Falafel smothered in a spicy Cilantro Yogurt Sauce all stuffed into a warm Pita bread pocket!

It thrills me to no conceivable end when I find Indian recipes in other cultures. I might be entirely wrong in saying that, because those recipes could have been introduced to India by invaders and traders, but you get the gist. I love walking into a restaurant, trying something new that I’ve heard of, but never had, and it tastes like something I grew up eating! The surprise on my face as the connection dawns on me

Do you remember my earlier post on the African (Nigerian) Akara fritters, which turned out to be very similar to the South-Indian Medu Vada (Fritters made with ground black lentils) – but instead of the black lentils, the African version uses black-eyed peas.

Try these {VEGAN} Baked Falafel smothered in a spicy Cilantro Yogurt Sauce all stuffed into a warm Pita bread pocket!

This is just like that, except I did not see this on TV, but realised the connection as I was biting into it. Falafel is a common name you hear when it comes to street food, so naturally, when I walked into a Mediterranean restaurant, along with their juicy kabobs, I had to order some falafel as well. Imagine my surprise when I bit into it and it tasted exactly like a South-Indian masala vada!

Made with soaked chickpeas (which is essentially just Bengal gram/channa dal), flavoured with cilantro and/or parsley,  garlic, red chillis, cumin and onions – sound familiar? – the falafel, while sounding middle eastern, is so familiar, once you get to know it.

Indians – as a group, having raised in a culture rooted in its traditions, are generally apprehensive about trying foods outside their native cuisine. While that is largely and rapidly changing now as the country and its people opens itself willingly to the outside world, the larger majority of the population still remains closed. And when they travel, they feel locked in, deprived of their regular spice palette, and tend to hate all other cuisines unequivocally.

I think that finding these common culinary denominators will help ease their minds and help open them up to trying new things.

Try these {VEGAN} Baked Falafel smothered in a spicy Cilantro Yogurt Sauce all stuffed into a warm Pita bread pocket!

This Falafel is a baked version, which means that you can probably bake the South Indian Masala Vada too. A revelation, if you ask me, finding out that a classic deep-fried breakfast/snack food has the potential to be actually healthy.

And it’s so simple too! Just grind all the ingredients, roast, bake!

Try these {VEGAN} Baked Falafel smothered in a spicy Cilantro Yogurt Sauce all stuffed into a warm Pita bread pocket!
Try these {VEGAN} Baked Falafel smothered in a spicy Cilantro Yogurt Sauce all stuffed into a warm Pita bread pocket!

Baked Falafel with Cilantro Sauce

Created by Tina Dawson on April 15, 2016

  • Prep Time:15m
  • Cook Time:15m
  • Total Time:3h 30m
  • Serves: 3
  • Yield: 11 pieces

Ingredients

  • 1 c soaked (uncooked) chickpeas (channa)
  • 1/2 small onion
  • a handful of cilantro/fresh coriander
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 1 -2 dry red chillis
  • 1/2 tsp. cumin seeds
  • 3 tbsp. all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp. baking powder
  • Salt to taste
  • About 1tsp oil

Instructions

  1. In a food processor, add the chickpeas, onion, coriander, garlic, chillis, cumin and salt. Pulse until you get a coarse batter.
  2. Mix in the flour and baking powder.
  3. Cover and refrigerate for a few hours.
  4. Use a tablespoon measure to divide the batter into about 11 balls.
  5. Place each ball in your palm and press lightly using your fingers to flatten it just slightly.
  6. Preheat oven to 400°F/204°C.
  7. Heat a cast iron pan (or any regular pan) with a light coating of oil.
  8. Place the flattened balls in the pan and roast it on both sides until golden brown.
  9. Transfer the cast iron pan into the oven directly and let the falafel bake for 15 minutes. If you used a non-cast iron pan, then transfer the roasted balls to a baking tray lined with foil, and then bake for 15 minutes.
  • Print
Serving suggestions:
Falafel, while good enough on its own, has the potential to becoming a complete meal, if served stuffed inside a Pita bread pocket, or naan or rotis, with a drizzle of sauce (usually tahini-based) and fresh vegetables like tomato, onion, bell peppers, lettuce, cilantro/parsley.
Try these {VEGAN} Baked Falafel smothered in a spicy Cilantro Yogurt Sauce all stuffed into a warm Pita bread pocket!

 

Spicy Cilantro Yogurt Sauce

Created by Tina Dawson on April 15, 2016

  • Prep Time:5m
  • Serves: 3
  • Yield: 3/4 cup

Ingredients

  • 1 c cilantro/fresh coriander leaves
  • 150 g Greek yogurt (substitute with regular yogurt)
  • 2 tbsp. sesame oil
  • 2 green chills
  • Salt to taste

Instructions

  1. In a small food processor jar, blend together all the ingredients to a smooth paste. Adjust seasoning. Refrigerate for up to 3 days.
  • Print

You might also like

  • Baked Mashed Potato FriesBaked Mashed Potato Fries
  • Spicy Sweet Potato RostiSpicy Sweet Potato Rosti
  • Vegan Zucchini FrittersVegan Zucchini Fritters
  • Spicy Cauliflower FrittersSpicy Cauliflower Fritters
  • Soy Kheema Rolls – with Soya ChunksSoy Kheema Rolls – with Soya Chunks
  • Sweet Chilli TofuSweet Chilli Tofu

Filed Under: All Recipes, Appetizers, BAKED not Fried, Cuisines, Lunch/Dinner, Middle-Eastern, Vegetarian Tagged With: Appetizers, Middle-Eastern, Vegan, Vegetarian

Previous Post: « Almond Crusted Flavoured Paneer
Next Post: Burmese Banana Fritters »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Sukanti says

    April 6, 2016 at 6:12 pm

    WHat can i use to substitute All purpose flour ?

    Reply
    • Tina Dawson says

      April 7, 2016 at 7:30 am

      All-purpose flour is just maida. If you don’t want to use it, just omit it from the recipe, squeezing out excess liquid with your fingers or muslin cloth. Otherwise, you can add a little semolina, bulgur wheat or just more chickpeas to increase the binding and absorbing the liquid from onions and cilantro. But essentially, it can be omitted without altering the taste or texture. Good luck!

      Reply
    • Tina Dawson says

      April 7, 2016 at 7:30 am

      All-purpose flour is just maida. If you don’t want to use it, just omit it from the recipe, squeezing out excess liquid with your fingers or muslin cloth. Otherwise, you can add a little semolina, bulgur wheat or just more chickpeas to increase the binding and absorbing the liquid from onions and cilantro. But essentially, it can be omitted without altering the taste or texture. Good luck!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Tina Dawson Profile Picture

Hi! I'm Tina - the human behind all the content you see on this blog. Welcome to my little corner of the internet where I create flavorful and unique plant-based recipes.

Read More…

Let’s Connect!

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Subscribe to Email Newsletter

5 Ingredients or Less Ebook Cover

The Blank Canvas Store - Food Photography Backgrounds and Props Store

BUY CUSTOM FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY BACKGROUNDS + PROPS

Don’t Miss These!

VEGAN Pumpkin Shaped Rolls

VEGAN Pumpkin Shaped Rolls

Caramelised Onions in a plate

Caramelized Onions

VEGAN Iced Mocha Latte on wooden plate with coffee beans strewn on table

VEGAN Iced Mocha Latte

Raspberry Iced Tea

Raspberry Iced Tea

Dairy-free Mocha Hazelnut Cappuccino

[V] Mocha Hazelnut Cappuccino

Puff Pastry Voodoo dolls on a table with Halloween things

Puff pastry Voodoo Dolls

Copyright © 2023 · LOVEISINMYTUMMY · PRIVACY POLICY · CONTACT · StudioPress Themes

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.AcceptReject Learn More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.

SAVE & ACCEPT