Falafel

The first time I had Falafel was in Sydney, strangely where that was the only vegetarian option available in a wrap.Then in Dec 2011, during my week long trip to Egypt I had the authentic falafel in pitta bread from a street shop brought to us by Ahmed, our tour guide. I had falafel for breakfast and lunch the whole week I was there in Egypt. Its amazing how food takes you back in time!
Ingredients:
Chickpeas-1 cup soaked overnight or 1 can, drained well.
Onion-1, chopped fine
Garlic- 5 cloves
coriander leaves-half cup
Fresh Parsley-half cup
Flour-6 tbsp
baking powder-1tsp
Spices- 2 tsp cumin powder, 1 tsp coriander powder, 1 tsp chilli powder
Salt
Oil- For deep frying
For serving- Pitta bread
                    lettuce, onion, tomato, cucumber, green chilli-chopped
                    Tahini sauce-half cup tahini,3 cloves garlic, 1/4 cup lemon juice, 2 tbsp oliveoil, salt, 1tsp parsley

Method:
1. In a food processor,  combine chickpeas, onion , garlic and the herbs till it looks like a thick paste.
2. Add in the spices, salt , flour and the baking powder and mix. It will look like a dough now. Cover and Refrigerate for 2 hours. This will prevent breaking on frying.
3.In the meantime combine all the ingredients for a tahini sauce in a food processor adding water to get a milkshake like consistency.
4. Shape falafel mix into small patties and deep fry in hot oil till its brown on both sides.
5. To serve, warm the pitta bread in a toaster, add 2-3 falafel, the chopped salad and a generous drizzle of tahini sauce.