Falafel

Another Saturday morning trip to the International Store on Oxton Road to buy some lunch and a another new toy for the kitchen is found. Falafel were wanted for lunch and I knew that I had seen on one of the shelves tucked away at the back various brightly coloured packets that were clearly marked falafel and suggested the possibility of something interesting. So I went to investigate and I was right. There were three or four packets of one sort or other all promising tasty falafel by stirring and mixing with some water. Without having any great idea of what to go for I was sold by the the packet of Durra  as it came with its own little falafel maker all for the grand sum of £1.79.

Back at home the two packets of powder were mixed with cold water and left to stand for an hour. The time was used up chopping up tomatoes, cucumber and long thin cool green peppers and arranging them neatly on a plate. After an hour the falafel mixture looked too wet and and I was convinced that they would fall apart as soon as I started to fry them. But having started I was going to have to finish the job. So I heated a good covering of oil in a small frying pan. The small metal instrument was simplicity itself to use. It appeared to have been made out of a couple of old tin cans. At the bottom there was a small plate just over an inch wide which was connected to some sort of spring mechanism inside. Pull back the lever and smear and spoonful of the mixture into the wide bottom. Then hovering over the hot oil let go of the spring and give it a shake and a small disc of falafel mixture started to frizzle. They held their shape and did not turn to mush in the oil as I had feared. After a minute I turned them over to let the other side cook.

After 15 minutes there were twenty or so small rounds of falafel which we ate stuffed into pitta with yogurt the chopped tomatoes, cucumber and pepper and dashes of chilli sauce.