Diet Dilemma

Recipe: Baked Chickpea Patties

The regular food that I have been accustomed to has always been high in carbs and sugar. Though I did always try to keep a check on oil and fat, that wasn't enough for me to lose weight.

When I started the slow-carb diet this Jan, I found it monotonous at times - eating the same kinds of food for all my meals day after day was difficult for me.  The need to eat slow-carb meals and the want to make it interesting forced me to step outside my food-comfort-zone and try out new dishes as well as different methods to cook them.

This dish is inspired by the falafel that I used to munch on during my childhood days. Whenever I used to walk past a Lebanese or Arabic restaurant the irresistible smell of freshly fried falafels and the heavenly aroma of meat roasting for the shawarma sandwiches would beckon to me... I would be powerless to resist.

Instead of frying the falafels, I tried to bake and grill them in the hopes of creating a low-cal version. The end-result tasted very different from the original fried falafels but it tasted uniquely interesting especially  with a spicy coriander and mint chutney as an accompaniment.

BAKED CHICKPEA PATTIES
Roughly adapted from here

Uncooked chickpea/garbanzo beans - 1 cup
Onion - 1 medium sized one
Cumin - 1/2 tsp
Garlic - 3 cloves
Parsley  leaves - finely chopped - 1/4 cup (can be substituted with coriander leaves)
Tahini - 1/2 tsp
Sesame seeds - 1 tsp
Salt and Pepper
Olive oil - 2-3 Tbsp


Wash the chickpeas and then soak them in 4 cups of water overnight

Throw away the soaked water as it will be frothy and throwing away this water helps in reducing flatulence and indigestion after consuming chickpeas

Cook the chickpeas with water and salt until done.

Heat a Tbsp of olive oil in a non stick pan. Add the chopped onion, crushed garlic and sauté for a minute until translucent. Add the cumin and sauté for another 10 seconds more. Add the chopped parsley/coriander leaves mix and switch off flame.

Mash the chickpeas and the sautéed mixture in a grinder or a food processor. Add the Tahini and the sesame seeds. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Make small golf ball sized balls of th mixture and flatten them.

Optionally, if you really like the taste of roasted sesame seeds, you can dip them in sesame seeds for a nice coating.

Oil a roasting pan and place the flattened balls on it.

Preheat the oven at 220 degrees C. Bake the chickpea patties for 10 minutes.  And then drizzle them with a Tbsp of olive oil and grill them for another 5-6 minutes on either side till it is slightly browned.


Serve hot with hummus, ketchup or coriander and mint chutney