Healthy twist to traditional Falafel: Green Chana Falafel for evening snacks

Here's a super easy and fun recipe for preparing Green Chana Falafel at home and relish it with loved ones.

Evening cravings are natural. With the sun going down and the night closing in, we have the intense craving for munching on something tasty and crispy. But deciding on evening snacks can be tricky – while we want the snacks to be as tasty as possible, we should also ensure that they are healthy and not too oily. Falafels make for a tasty evening snack. Believed to have originated in Egypt, this dish is a deep-fried ball or patty-shaped fritter made from broad beans, ground chickpeas, or both. The Falafel balls are usually served with pickled vegetables, salads, and hot sauce. They are also served sometimes as part of the platter of appetizers.

Green chana or green chickpeas are one of the healthiest vegetables offered by the winter season. With the winter almost wrapping up for this year, it is time to relish on green chickpeas as much we can. They are also nutritious in nature and are loaded with benefits. Here is a super easy and fun recipe for preparing Green Chana Falafel at home for an evening snack.

Ingredients:

2 cups shelled fresh green gram (hara chana)

3-4 garlic cloves

Salt to taste

1 tsp cumin powder

½ tsp all spice powder

Crushed black peppercorns to taste

½ cup fresh parsley leaves

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 tsps lemon juice

½ cup fresh breadcrumbs

Oil for deep frying

To serve:

Hummus

Pickled veggies

Pitted green and black olives

Toasted pita bread

Method:

In a food processor, coarsely crush green gram, garlic, salt, cumin powder, all spice powder, crushed black peppercorns and parsley. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and add onion, lemon juice and breadcrumbs, and mix everything together. Take portions of the mix and shape into a falafel. Then in a kadai, heat oil, and deep fry the falafels till they are golden brown. Take them out and drain the excess oil on absorbent paper. Serve hot with hummus, pickled veggies, green and black olives and toasted pita bread.

(Recipe: Sanjeev Kapoor, Chef)