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Post by haasfan on May 2, 2007 18:49:23 GMT -5
This felafel recipe is 100% authentic, easy to make and all ingredients are available at just about any grocery store. For amounts, well.....here goes: one cup of dry chick peas soaked overnight in cold water a handfull of parsley a really big onion or, a lot of onion a nice pinch of salt a few, well, quite a few grinds of black pepper five or so cloves of garlic a few pinches of hot pepper flakes a teaspoon or so of cumin a teaspoon of baking powder a few teaspoons of flour put all into the processor and process, scrape down sides and process a bit more. consistency should be grainy...bigger than sand, smaller than rice....just don't make it mucky and retain some texture. stick in the fridge for a minmum of an hour, several hours is best. using a wok or your favorite deep cast iron cookware, get several inches of oil chicken frying hot. make felafel balls by rolling in your hands, make them the size you want...small ones for stuffing in pita, large ones for plate service....slide into the oil...brown and serve. the felafel balls should be bright green inside... Home made pita goes nicely here.....another super easy to make recipe...be careful with the pita, it cooks VERY VERY FAST! cooking pita on the floor of the oven is a great way to get these guys to the table fast! don't cook more than you need for a first serving, they really don't need more thana minute or so to reach perfection! kosherfood.about.com/od/kosherbreadrecipes/r/pita_oven.htm
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Post by gabrieldresser on May 2, 2007 19:43:53 GMT -5
I'm impressed with this recipe presentation. It looks great.
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Post by ahappycamper on May 2, 2007 19:59:32 GMT -5
It that your Nora Desmond hand or Peter's???
That looks so good.
Janice
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Post by berlyn on May 2, 2007 20:10:31 GMT -5
looks so delish, what are your serving with the felafel on the pita??
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Post by haasfan on May 2, 2007 20:26:21 GMT -5
Thanks for the compliments, if youlike felafel, try this recipe, it really is easy and delicious. the norma desmond hand is mine and we just added some yogurt garlic to the mix...didn't have any tahini in the house and that isn't something i make....
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Post by justchattin on May 2, 2007 20:48:19 GMT -5
Gave you a bit of Karma for that recipe. This is something my wife could make since it's vegetarian. She didn't believe you were making your own pitas, she thought you were just heating up store bought pita. When I told her it was real pita, she got VERY interested in the recipe.
But isn't it spelt Falafel with an A, not Felafel with an E?
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Post by haasfan on May 2, 2007 21:00:54 GMT -5
it is spelled fey lamed fay lamed in hebrew....in english, anything goes. the pita was really easy to make, flour, water, sugar, salt and yeast....mix it up, let it rise, knock it down, make balls, flatten, let rise and bakeoff in a hot oven, they puffed up beautifully! i think next week i'll make shakshouka! p.vtourist.com/1/2132485-Dr_Shakshuka-Tel_Aviv_Yafo.jpgDr. Shakshouka Rehov Beit Eshel 3, Jaffa Tel. 03 6822842 * Middle-Eastern Reasonable More of an "eatery" than a restaurant, this always crowded and noisy place features the simple but flavor-filled dishes of Morocco, Tunisia and Libya, the nations of the Maghreb. Best bets are the shakshouka (a spiced egg and tomato casserole), the mixed grill of kebabs, shishlik and lamb chops, and the kubbeh (burghul filled with meat, rice and pine nuts). If you are here during the colder months of the year be sure to try the hot sachleb, a delicious sweet beverage that will warm the soul as well as the body. A fun place at which to eat. Open Sunday to Thursday from 09:30 - 24:00, on Friday until the onset of Shabbat, and on Saturday nights until 1 a.m. or later. Kosher.
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Post by damnoldhippie on May 2, 2007 21:11:55 GMT -5
Many thanks for posting this felafel recipe, Ha...can't wait to try it! Looks much better than those nasty box mixes at the store. We are lucky to have a great middle-eastern bakery here called "Phoenicia" that whips up great fresh ones. but to be able to do it fresh at home will rock. I make hummus a lot, so to be able to make fresh felafel will be a treat.
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Post by chipperhiker on May 3, 2007 11:14:56 GMT -5
Wow, HA. That looks delicious. I'll definitely have to try it. Thanks for posting this.
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Post by haasfan on May 3, 2007 11:49:32 GMT -5
i'm almost ashamed to tell you how much i enjoy the prep, the cooking, the shots and the posting...it's amazing how a visual record of what one does can truly enhance one's own recognition of skills and abilities! i always thought my cooking was such a mess and i realize, it isn't! ok, next week, i promise, shakshouka for everyone! and in two weeks we will do Mother's Day Brunch from Scratch.
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Post by treatmaker on May 3, 2007 11:55:27 GMT -5
I think I'll make falafel on Monday nite. My guys love the hummus I make so they should like this. Doesn't matter if they do or don't . I love it.
Treatmaker
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Post by damnoldhippie on May 3, 2007 12:31:19 GMT -5
i'm almost ashamed to tell you how much i enjoy the prep, the cooking, the shots and the posting...it's amazing how a visual record of what one does can truly enhance one's own recognition of skills and abilities! i always thought my cooking was such a mess and i realize, it isn't! ok, next week, i promise, shakshouka for everyone! and in two weeks we will do Mother's Day Brunch from Scratch. Ha...I've been doing the same "documentary" thing for a few years...it started with a batch of buffalo chili (16 photos and a page's worth of commentary) and went from there . Char constantly chides me to write a cookbook, or else commit it to video (gotta admit I wanted to do a cooking show waaaaaaay back before Emeril ever said "Bam!" on the air). Your creations are added inspiration to keep going with documenting the recipes. Lookin' forward to the next installment!
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Post by foodisgood on May 3, 2007 17:20:31 GMT -5
Youtube ;D ;D ;D Next thing you know its HGTV.
There are singer/songwriters that started that way and now they have a record label.
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Post by berlyn on May 3, 2007 18:14:38 GMT -5
Youtube ;D ;D ;D Next thing you know its HGTV. There are singer/songwriters that started that way and now they have a record label. Rob with his very own Food Network show!! Live from the commune with his Chambers. hmmmm not a bad idea ;D
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Post by damnoldhippie on May 18, 2007 22:24:20 GMT -5
Ha, we finally got the chance to try your falafel recipe this past Monday, and just wanted to say thanks again for this...they turned out great, and now that we know how to do it from scratch, we'll have 'em a lot more often!
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Post by mach12 on Apr 27, 2015 9:45:03 GMT -5
Not sure how I overlooked this recipe since it has been here awhile. I made it over the weekend and it's a great recipe and very authentic. This was an almost daily staple when I was working in Egypt. The only difference was that the falafel was made into more of a patty. Now all we need is a good koshary recipe.
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Post by pooka on Apr 27, 2015 15:47:29 GMT -5
This sound really good, but I'm a lazy cook, so I'm not sure I'd ever make it for myself. Another dish I liked when I went to Israel was tabbouleh. I'm normally not partial to thing like this, but I really like it.
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Post by mach12 on Apr 27, 2015 17:28:26 GMT -5
Tabbouleh is great! I'd forgotten all about it. Most places I've been they serve it with a quartered lemon so that you can add some lemon juice to it if you wanted and I usually use the whole lemon. I think I'm going to have to pull a recipe and go shopping! You can usually find falafel premade and it's good too. The stores around here have it in the frozen food section.
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Post by pooka on Apr 27, 2015 22:45:14 GMT -5
I was only over there for a one week. I went with my mother. She wanted to go, but wouldn't go unless someone went with her. While I was there they talked about tabbouleh as if everybody makes it & has their own family recipe. Kinda like Americans & potato salad.
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Post by mach12 on Apr 27, 2015 23:48:33 GMT -5
I think you're right. I did a search and there were pages of different recipes, some using couscous, some quinoa and some neither. I'm going to dig my way back to my Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cookbooks tomorrow and see what they have. I'm ripping out carpet and putting down wood floors and have the guest bedroom packed with furniture and those books are in the back, of course.
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Post by karitx on Apr 28, 2015 8:24:38 GMT -5
It's been a while since I've made it, but I thought tabbouleh was made from bulgur wheat. I would think quinoa would add a bitter component.
Edited to add... If you have recommendations for good Middle Eastern cookbooks, please share! I have a couple, but neither is great.
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Post by mach12 on Apr 28, 2015 11:13:21 GMT -5
Karitx - That's how I've always had it. I finally dug out my cookbooks and every one of the recipes agrees. I've never made it myself (it was always readily available when I was over there) but that's about to change. I have two favorites, the first being one called "My Egyptian Grandmother's Kitchen" by Magda Mehdawy. I did a search and it's available on Amazon. The other is called "Egyptian Cooking" by Samia Abdennour, also available but kind of pricey. I also have one that I found in a used book store that's called "Coptic Cooking, Egyptian and Other Family Favorites" by the St. George Coptic Orthodox Church in Campbell, CA. I'm not sure whether it's still in print but they have a website and you could send them a note: St. George Church. It's kind of Americanized so makes it easy. Egypt is the melting pot of the Middle East and has a great variety from all over the region, so I find the best variety and consolidation in Egyptian cookbooks.
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Post by karitx on Apr 28, 2015 12:33:32 GMT -5
Thanks, mach12!
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Post by nana on May 8, 2015 22:05:10 GMT -5
I made these falafel tonight--boy were they good!! The pita were good too, but I have yet to make pita bread that puffs up like it should. Some of these puffed up only half, others not at all. A few were just perfect. Maybe the cookie sheet just doesn't get hot enough fast enough in a regular oven. I used half white whole wheat flour too, but that usually doesn't affect too much Just wait till Marilyn gets here! Oh by the way, the doc grudgingly gave me the OK to go back to gluten yesterday, hooray! It was such a joy kneading that dough and smelling that yeasty smell, I could have eaten it raw and been happy.
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Post by vaporvac on May 8, 2015 22:26:58 GMT -5
Nana, I've made these since high school and the key is a VERY hot oven. Be sure to pre-heat for a while. I've found with Althea I can put them directly on the cast iron baffle. When it's hot nothing sticks to it. I just toss them in and use a long spatula to scoop them out. A cookie sheet works well, too, but those insulated ones might keep them too cool.
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Post by mach12 on May 9, 2015 11:04:48 GMT -5
Doing them on the baffle is a great idea. I used to watch them making bread when I lived in Egypt and it was really interesting. They generally use those domed stone ovens. They build a really hot fire and then after the oven is well heated they scoop the coals and ash to the back of the oven and then toss the bread onto the hot floor of the oven. Every now and then they'll pull the coals back onto the cooking surface and toss in a couple of bunches of twigs to heat it back up. I played with it a bit and found that the old homemade cast griddle that I got from my Dad works perfect (he made it out of the side of an old, broken, cast iron laundry tub that the neighbors were tossing). I heat it up, dust it with flour and toss on the bread and it does a real goo job. I've also used my Wagner cast iron griddle and it works fine too, just can't make as big of pieces of bread on it.
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Post by vaporvac on May 9, 2015 14:49:36 GMT -5
I remember that post with your griddle! I've seen those ovens in action and ones lined with rocks on the wall. I have directions to "season" rocks to use in the oven, but I'm afraid they'll still explode. We use those in NM, but just for regular loaves and veggies. I always wanted to build one; great way to get rid of kindling around my yard, but have never gotten around to it. If the baking sheets are pre-heated. one can get two shelves work of bread. We have a local med baker and that's their MO...hot and fast. The dough also has to be fairly evenly thick...if too thin is won't pop open.
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Post by nana on May 9, 2015 19:07:26 GMT -5
I might have made mine too thin this time. The picture on the recipe looked like they were rolled out less than a 1/4 inch. Although I usually roll them out thicker, and I still get uneven results. Maybe there are just hot and cool spots (relatively) in my oven. I'll have to try on a cast iron griddle next time. Or just wait till I have Marilyn to help me.
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