Roasted Bell Pepper Hummus

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Mediterranean food is a favourite at home nowdays, earlier I had posted homemade pita bread n falafel with tahini sauce, however no mediterranean cuisine is complete without hummus the classic dip which can be had with fresh carrots,celery,broccoli or fresh pita bread.

Forget store bought hummus that's been sitting on the shelf for weeks. It's laden with preservatives which is very unhealthy too. There are many variation of hummus n using red bell pepper is my favourite. Adding roasted bell pepper gives it a nice smoky flavor. Here is the recipe

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups chickpeas (soaked overnight)
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 tsp chopped garlic
• 2 tbsp chopped onions
• 2 tbsp tahini sauce
• 1/4 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/4 tsp paprika or 1/4 red chilli flakes
• 3 tbsp chopped parsley
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 10 olives

Cooking Procedure:

Pressure cook the chickpeas with cup water, after 1 whistle switch it off n let it cool.

Roast the red bell pepper greased with oil on medium flame or in a oven for 15 min at 400 F. Peel the skin off n wash nicely if roasted on flame.

Grind all the ingredients with chickpeas n bell pepper except olive oil to a smooth paste.

Garnish with a topping of green olives n olive oil and serve with pita bread.

I am sending this roasted bell pepper hummus to

A.W.E.D.MENU hosted by niloufer started by DK

CWF: LB - Chickpeas hosted by Nithu and started by Kiran

MLLA 27 an event by Susan of The Well Seasoned Cook.

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Tags: Mediterranean, Dip, Chutney, Chickpea

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Falafel Stuffed Pita Pockets

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In continuation of my earlier post , I have prepared some falafel and tahini sauce to have with the pita bread. Falafel is basically a mediterranean dish made with chickpeas n used extensively to stuff pitas. I had bookmarked this recipe of falafel and tahini sauce from manjulas kitchen and at last this weekend I got a chance to prepare it. Tahini sauce is also very healthy as it has sesame and parsley. We enjoyed it a lot, it was new to me which made it more fun.

Preparation Time:20 min

Cooking Time: 45 min

Makes: 6-8 stuffed pita pockets

Falafel Ingredients:

• 1 cup chickpeas (soaked overnight, pressure cooked with 1 whistle and 3 min)
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 2 tbsp cilantro
• 2 tbsp parsley
• 1 green chilli
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp chilli flakes
• 1/2 inch ginger
• oil for deep fry
• salt to taste

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Falafel Preparation:

Grind all the above ingredients except oil to a coarse paste with very little water, the paste must bind with a simple hand grip. Divide it into 20 balls and deep fry until they turn brown. Keep aside.

Tahini Sauce Ingredients

• 1/4 cup sesame seeds
• 1 green chilli sliced
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp cilantro
• 2 tbsp parsley
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/4 cup water
• salt to taste

Tahini Preparation:

Grind the above ingredients to a smooth paste and keep aside.

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For stuffing the pita we need:

• 16 falafels
• 1/2 cup tahini sauce
• 1 cup chopped lettuce
• 3/4 cup chopped onion
• 3/4 cup chopped tomatos
• 3/4 cup chopped cucumber

Procedure:

Heat one pita pocket on a tawa lightly. Fill with lettuce,onion,tomato,cucumber, falafel and then top it with tahini sauce. Serve immediately.

I am posting this recipe to the following events

A.W.E.D.MENU hosted by niloufer started by DK

CWF: LB - Chickpeas hosted by Nithu and started by Kiran

A visual treat hosted by Sanyukta

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Tags: Pita,Pita Pocket,Pita Bread,Mediterranean Bread,Yeast,Flour,Bake,Baking,Easy Recipe,Baking Recipe,Bread Recipe,Falafel,Falafel and Pita Recipe, Tahini Sauce,Falafel stuffed pitas,Falafel Sandwich,Falafel Wrap, Chickpeas, Sesame Sauce, Garbanzo Beans, Healthy Recipe

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Pita Pocket Bread

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Pita is a round pocket bread widely consumed in many Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisines. The "pocket" in pita bread is created by steam, which puffs up the dough. As the bread cools and flattens, a pocket is left in the middle.Pita is used to scoop sauces or dips such as hummus and also used to form a sandwich. These are sometimes called "pita pockets" or "pocket pitas" to wrap kebabs and falafel.

I got the base ingredients from the tastycurryleaf blog. But I used the oven n they came out pretty well.

Preparation Time: 20 min

Waiting Time: 1 hr

Baking Time: 5 min per pita

Makes : 8 pitas (16 pita pockets)

Ingredients:

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tsp dry active yeast
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 and 3/4 cup warm water

Cooking Procedure:

In a big bowl add salt sugar n yeast mix nicely. Then add 1 cup warm water and let it sit for 10 min or till it become active .once its active mix oilve oil to it n then add flour one cup at atime and mix with spatula. Add warm water if necessary until all the flour(3 cups) nicely blend and no longer stick to the sides of bowl.Now grease the dough with oil nicely, cover it with damp cloth or cling wrap n let it sit for one hour or till the dough doubles in size.

After one hour remove the dough from the bowl n put on a lightly floured surface and knead it for 5 min until it become smooth. Cut the dough into 8 parts and make them into balls and let them sit for 10 min.

Preheat the oven to 500 F which take approximately 20 min.In this 20 min take the balls and roll it out into circles of approximately 8-10 inches with half cm thick.

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Grease the baking tray with some oil. Place the pitas on the tray and bake them in the for oven 2-3 min per side ,it will rise automatically.

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Remove pitas from tray ,let it cool for 2 mins ,then cut is into two halfs and pita pockets are ready to fill with your choice of stuffing or you can fridge it for later use .

I am sending this Pita Pocket Bread wonderful event

A.W.E.D.MENU hosted by niloufer started by DK

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Tags: Pita,Pita Pocket,Pita Bread,Arabic Bread,Yeast,Flour,Bake,Baking,Easy Recipe,Baking Recipe,Bread Recipe

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