FALAFEL BHEL

Who does not love falafels right! But the one problem I have faced with Falafel is that the moment I try to take a bite of the falafel pocket, everything starts falling out and it gets messy. So, I had to come up with something easy and mess-free….  And Viola!!!! Falafel bhel. I tried to make it a little healthier by air frying the falafels. This recipe is lengthy but trust me it’s worth it!!

Prep Time: 45 mins | Cook Time: 30 mins | Total Time: 1hr 15 mins | Yields: 6 Servings

Ingredients:

Falafel:

• 1 cup Chickpeas (soaked overnight)
• ½ cup Yellow mung dal (soaked overnight)
• ½ cup chopped onions
• ½ cup chopped cilantro
• 2 Jalapeños (roughly chopped
• 10 cloves of peeled garlic
• Salt to taste
• ¼ tsp cumin powder
• Oil/oil spray to grease the falafels

Pita Crisp:

• 6-8 Pocketless Pita bread
• 1 tbsp Olive oil
• 1/2tsp Chili flakes
• 1/2tsp Oregano
• Salt to taste

Hummus:

• 1 ½ cups Cooked Chickpeas 
• 2 Jalapeños (roughly chopped) + ½ Jalapeño sliced (for garnish)
• 6 cloves of peeled garlic
• 2tbsps Lemon Juice
• 3 tbsps Tahini sauce
• ¼ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil + 2tbsp while serving
• 3-4 tbsps of water

White Sauce:

• 2 cups Mayonnaise
• ½ cup Greek yogurt
• ½ tsp Black pepper powder
• ½ tsp Garlic powder
• 1 tbsp dried parsley (powdered)
• 1 tbsp dried dill (powdered)
• Salt to taste

Red Sauce:

• I used Halal Guys Hot Sauce. (you can use as many packets you want depending on your spice level)

Salad:

• Romaine lettuce (roughly chopped/torn)
• Cucumbers diced
• Tomatoes deseeded and diced

Directions:

For the Falafels:

1. Drain the chickpeas and mung dal and then transfer into food processor.
2. Add the garlic and Jalapeños to it. And pulse everything into a COARSE mixture.
3. Transfer the mixture into a bowl and add salt, cumin powder, chopped onions and cilantro. Make small balls out of the mixture and place them on the Air fryer tray and set aside. Spray/ brush falafels with oil. 
4. Turn the air fryer on. Make sure it is on Air fryer mode. Set it on 400°F for 25 mins. Once it is preheated, put the tray in the oven and cook the falafels.
5. Once ready, transfer them in a serving bowl and set aside.

For the Pita Crips:

1. Pre-Heat the oven at 375°F
2. Mix Olive oil, Chili flakes, oregano and salt. 
3. Brush the mixture on the pitas and cut them into small pieces and place them on an oven safe tray
4. Once the oven is ready, Place the tray in the oven and toast the pitas for 5 mins or till the pitas are crisp. Transfer them in a bowl and set aside.

For Hummus:

1. Add all the ingredients except the Olive Oil in a food processor.
2. Start blending everything. While the blender is on, start adding the olive oil.
3. Blend till the mixture is smooth and creamy.
4. Check for salt and add more water if required.
5. Transfer the hummus in a serving bowl and add the 2tbsps of olive oil over it.
6. lace the sliced Jalapeños on top

White Sauce:

1. Whisk the mayo and yoghurt together. 
2. Add rest of the ingredients and give it a stir.
3. Transfer the sauce in a serving bowl.

Assembling:

1. Take a bowl. Add Lettuce and veggies.
2. Add the falafel balls (I made them really small so there was no need to break them into pieces).
3. Add the hummus, white sauce and red sauce
4. Add the Pita crisp as you desire.
5. And Falafel Bhel is ready!!! Enjoy!!! 

Notes:

• I used Ziyad Tahini sauce in my hummus mixture.
• You can use any mayo of your choice. I used Hellman’s Vegan Mayo
• I used Kontos Pocket Less whole wheat pita. If you are time pressed you can skip the Pita crisp process and use Pita chips of your choice. (I personally like Stacy’s Pita chips.
• I have the Instant Omni Plus air fryer, so I used the air fryer setting for Fries and turned the cook time to 25 mins. You can fry them if you like or bake them in a regular oven. 
• If you are time pressed you can always use store bought hummus and Halal guys white sauce. (I prefer the homemade one).
• If you don’t have Halal guys hot sauce, you can use Harissa sauce as well.