PITAS FULL OF POCKETS…with FALAFEL, KABOBS OR COTTAGE CHEESE!
Deeba @ PAB
“If the divine creator has taken pains to give us delicious and exquisite things to eat, the least we can do is prepare them well and serve them with ceremony.”
Fernand Point
Getting into the FALAFEL of things…
Quite a few blogs are buzzing with Middle Eastern food these days & I’m trying hard to catch up. By the time I get to making falafel & pita bread after getting pockets-full of inspiration from Val @ More Than Burnt Toast, she’s already hitting a new trail…’Zataar‘! O Boy… so much to do as usual, & so little time! I must admit I’ve been living under a rock. For some insane reason, each time I heard of falafel I assumed it was a sort of bread. Having had donna kebabs several times in the UK & in Canada, it never crossed my mind that there might be a vegetarian option. I always associated the Middle East with kebabs served on a bed of rice or in pita pockets!!! Can you imagine my surprise when I read at Val’s that it was chickpeas they were talking about! How embarrassing… After reading such rave reviews, I set off to try making falafel…albeit skeptically! With recipes galore, tossed a coin between cooked or uncooked chick-peas…uncooked was the call! Very simple & straightforward recipe, must admit I was sure it would fall to pieces in hot oil! Lo & behold…perfect falafel balls! Even better was the taste…crisp from the outside; bursting with flavour within & a great veggie option! YUM…the recipe for falafel came from Epicurious.
Pita bread is another story altogether, associated in my past with beastly yeastly tales. But thanks to the Daring Bakers daring french loaf challenge & the success with Susan @ Food Blogga’s pizza dough, rising with the yeast is now the norm, rather than an exception! No problem at all…sailed through the recipe! Got the recipe from Kamini’s @ Bubbling Cauldronthat took me to Jai & Bee’s @ Jugalbandi…NO FAIL pita recipe, with a 70% puff rate as they said! Mine behaved very well for a change…must have been the new electric tandoor my parents gifted us on our anniversary! It’s an interesting little box which goes up to sudden high temperatures & cooks 2-3 pitas at a time in a matter of 4-5 minutes! COOL!!
I made the cardinal error of trying to do too many new things on one single day & almost died of tension! I was sure the falafel would fail-a-fail me; the pitas would be pocketless & the meal a disaster. The verdict was a great THUMBS UP! The high point being that the son who dislikes lentils of any sort, took to the falafel beautifully. He ate a few as a snack, & for dinner had some more in his pita pocket! The only thing I didn’t achieve was the tahini sauce because I ran out of time & energy! I did however serve them with a coriander yogurt sauce from 28 Cooks blogspot, & my all time favourite yogurt/sour cream dip which is a hit with anything & everything!
This is a post longer than I intended it to be….but, the fact is that the entire meal was a collaboration of sorts. Who ever said ‘Too many cooks spoil the broth“? Amazingly, I put this together with too many cooks, & pulled it off! The chicken kebabs were a Lebanese kabob recipe from no other than my sister, our family’s acclaimed Chicken Queen! Simple & finger-licking good! The salad was a simple one with iceberg lettuce, red,yellow & green bell peppers, spring onions with greens, & tomatoes sans seeds…all tossed together in a light olive oil & lime juice dressing. To recap then:
Lebanese Chicken Kabobs…the Chicken Queen’s adaptation from her new North African and Middle Eastern Cookbook.
Make a marinade out of grated onions, garlic, lemon juice, salt, pepper, red chilipwdr, paprika and a saffron soaked in hot water.
Marinate chicken pieces in this for as long as you like (overnight is fine) and then grill them for approx 30 mins; turning once at about 15-20minutes.
Make sure to put them on a grill tray to drain off excess juices and put something beneath to collect the juices .
Rest the kebabs for 10 minutes & use as fillers with a base of salad. Top with coriander sauce, yogurt sauce, tahini> sauce &/or a hot harissa> sauce if you like!
& MAKE IT COTTAGE-CHEESE NEXT TIME!!
Make a marinade with olive oil, grated garlic, juice of 1 lime, red chili flakes, grill seasoning & salt.
Cut cottage cheese into thin fingers, about 1 1/2 inches long, & toss gently in marinade. Leave for about 30 minutes to whenever you are ready to eat the meal.
Turn the whole thing into a pan, & saute on high heat till dry. That’s option #3 for you!
Layer with a salad, followed by cottage cheese & topped with sauces of your choice.
