Waffled Falafel with Tzatziki and Lemon Rice

If you want to use your waffle iron to its full potentional, check out this fun blog called Waffleizer that explores the many unexpected ways you can cook food in a waffle iron. This is where I got the idea for waffled falafel. I mean, it’s just so fun to say that how can you not try it? It’s also a lot healthier than the regular way of frying the falafel in oil. It was one of those ideas that I had been waiting to try for a while, but never seemed to get around to actually doing it.

Then one day I was having my brother over for dinner and the waffled falafel idea emerged. It seemed like something he would appreciate, being adept with a waffle iron and a lover of Middle Eastern cuisine. I was going to just use a mix, like the site says, but I couldn’t find it at our local grocery store. Unfortunately, our store is notorious for not carrying anything that is remotely out of the ordinary. I can’t find items like bean sprouts or rice stick noodles there, so I’m not surprised that there was no falafel mix either. I turned to allrecipes.com as I so often do, and found this amazing recipe for falafels, called Sean’s Falafel and Cucumber Sauce. I made my own version of cucumber sauce (or tzatziki), but followed the falafel part of the recipe pretty closely. The result was the most delicious falafel I’ve ever tasted. My brother declared it to be much better than any mix. The waffling part was a lot of fun too. It was nice to chat with my little bro while standing around the waffle iron waiting for falafels to brown. Soon the boys and Tony gathered around to see what was going on, but I think they were a little disappointed when they realized we weren’t having waffles for dinner. Sorry guys!

Waffled Falafel

Ingredients

1 (15 oz) can chickpeas, drained
1 onion, chopped
1/2 cup fresh parsley
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 egg
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon salt
1 dash pepper
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup dry bread crumbs

Instructions

Mash chickpeas in a large bowl until they form a thick paste; set aside.
In a food processor or blender, combine onion, parsley and garlic and process until smooth. Add to mashed chickpeas.
In another bowl, mix together egg, cumin, coriander, salt, pepper, cayenne, lemon juice, baking powder, and olive oil.
Add to chickpea mixture and stir until combined.
Slowly add breadcrumbs until the mixture is no longer sticky but still holds together. Form heaping tablespoons into balls and place the the fridge until you’re ready to cook.
Heat up waffle iron, spray with a little cooking spray if your iron tends to stick, and cook falafels for a few minutes until lightly browned. Serve in fresh pita bread with tzatziki, greek salad and lemon rice.

https://foodwhine.com/2011/05/waffled-falafel-with-tzatziki-and-lemon-rice.html

Tzatziki

Ingredients

1 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 cup shredded English cucumber
1/2 tbsp fresh mint, diced
1 tsp garlic
salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

Place shredded cucumber in the centre of a cloth or paper towel and squeeze out as much moisture as you can.
Combine with yogurt, mint, garlic, salt and pepper.
Chill for at least one hour.

https://foodwhine.com/2011/05/waffled-falafel-with-tzatziki-and-lemon-rice.html

Lemon Rice

Ingredients