No Garlic Hummus - A Middle Eastern Dip

Well, who says there cannot be dish without 'NO ONION, NO GARLIC' ! Presenting a Middle Eastern Platter with same :) :)

The simple dip of Chickpeas, lemon juice, salt and flavorful Olive Oil with my addition of little bit of Italian Seasoning, Basil Leaves, Chilli flakes and Oregano Leaves :) So without Garlic, there is lot to add more into it to  make it flavorful dish :) :) While going through various recipes, found this article of Huffington Post which says why one should have Hummus :)

Let's start with Tahini!

Method:

• Toast 3 tbsp of Sesame Seeds till it changes color to brown. Keep stirring continuously exactly like how we make Til ki Chikki!
• Grind it with 1 tbsp of Olive Oil or little more oil to blend it more. I had to add 2 tbsp extra to blend it well. 

Then What! Tahini is READY :) Keep it aside. 

Let's See How Hummus is Made :)

• 1 cup - Chickpeas (Soak for 6-8 hours and then boiled it just exactly the same we do for making Chole)
• Prepared Tahini
• 2-3 tbsp Lemon juice
• 2 green chillies (optional)
• Salt to taste
• 4 tbsp - Olive oil
• 1 tsp - cumin powder
• Water left over from boiling chick peas

Garnish

• Red Chilli Flakes
• Roasted Cumin Powder
• Oregano leaves
• Basil leaves
• Roasted sesame seeds 
• A little liberal hand in dropping the olive oil :)

Method  for Hummus:

Must be seeing Avocado, I was to add it but then after peeling it more it was not that good to use :( So didn't put it inside! You can add it and make the Avocado Hummus. 

• Add the boil chickpeas with the tahini sauce prepared to the blender and grind it well. Add little water to it if required. 
• Add lemon juice, green chilli, salt, olive oil, cumin powder and grind again. If not able to mix it then add little at once. 
• Garnish it with chilli flakes, sesame seeds, basil and oregano leaves. 
• This will be stuff into Pita Bread and other Ingredients :) 

Please feel write to me for any queries :)

Happy Middle Eastern Food :) :)

Falafel - Chickpeas Vada! & Salad

A Middle Eastern 'No Onion, No Garlic' platter was a super hit at my place :) Usually, it is deep fried but this time again there was a TWIST! I shallow fry it just like any other Paneer Pakoda or Dahi Vada in my super amazing gadget 'APPE PAN'

So what is needed to make this! 

• 1 cup - Boiled Kabuli Chana/Chick peas (Soak for 6-7 hours)
• 3 tbsp - Cilantro/Dhaniya/Coriander
• 4 tbsp - Olive Oil
• Salt to taste
• Red Chilli Powder to taste
• 1 tsp - roasted cumin powder
• 1 tsp - lemon juice
• 2-4 tbsp - Maida
• 1 tsp - baking powder
• 1 tsp - toasted sesame powder

Method:

• Barring the Avocado! DO NOT INCLUDE
• Grind the drain chickpeas along with sesame seeds. If require do it twice or thrice.
• Add lemon juice, chilli powder, cumin powder, salt, parsley, cilantro to it and grind it again. Do not make the mixture soft, grind it coarsely. Do not add too much of water otherewise it will become very runny! We want dough like mixture. 
• Add baking powder to it and mix it well. 
• Add Maida only to bind it! Not more needed
• Either deep fry or shallow fry in the appe pan as shown in the image :) 

Taste is the same, no changes at all :) My husband loved it and was happy that he can have 'No Onion No Garlic' falafels at home now :) :) Happy Family :D :D

Falafel Salad:

• 1 Chopped Carrot
• 1 chopped tomato 
• Few strings of Parsley
• Few leaves of Lettuce
• 1 chopped cucumber

Mix and toss it well. Salade is ready!

Puffed Herbed Pita Bread

Baking bread since 3 months! After that no store bought BREADS anymore in my house :)

So why not to try Puffed PITA Pockets at home! And Voila!! Did it :) That too with 100% Whole Wheat Flour :) And with again giving more twist, I added Oregano Leaves as well as Red Chilli flakes to give the flavor Pita Bread :) :)

These lovely pockets can have with any kind of sandwich filling we want or with delicious Hummus

What is required to make this!

• 2 cups - Whole Wheat Flour
• 1 1/2 tsp - Instant Yeast
• 1/2 cup - Warm Water (to prove the yeast)
• 1/2 cup - warm water (to knead the dough)
• 1 tsp - Sugar
• 1 tsp - Oregano Leaves
• 1 tsp - Red Chilli Flakes
• 1 tbsp - Olive oil
• 1 tsp - Salt

Method:

• In the warm water, add yeast and sugar. Keep it aside for frothing for 5-10 minutes or till the bubble rises. 
• Mix the flour, chilli flakes, oregano leaves, salt and oil and add the frothed yeast mixture to this.
• Knead the dough for 8-10 minutes adding water to it. We need chapati like dough. 
• Grease the bowl and rotate dough from all sides. Cover it with Cling wrap and put it in the TURNED OFF oven for 1 hour and 30 minutes. 
• Dough will be double in size. 
• Make the balls and start rolling it! 
• Preheat the oven at 450 F ( I made it in my small toaster oven)
• Put the pita on a slightly greasing tray for about 8-10 minutes till it fluffs or brown in color. Important is to get it fluff so that pockets are formed for filling. 2-3 of mines in the beginning didn't fluff properly! 

Notes for perfect PUFFS:

• Roll it little thicker than chapatis 
• Make sure oven is very HOT. Know your oven very well as I have done it in the small toaster oven which has temperature settings too. 

How to make it!

• Take the pockets! Apply the Hummus on both sides. 
• Put the falafel ball pieces into it. 
• Then fill it with salad. 
• Apply the hummus again! If want little spicy, then sprinkle some red chili flakes and it is ready to eat :) :) 

Happy Cooking with Middle Eastern Platter :)