Homemade Falafel in Fresh Pita Bread

Falafel in Pita is a staple of Israeli cuisine. You can find a falafel stand almost on every other street corner. When you buy it, you get a pita absolutely overflowing with salads, falafel and flavor! (at which point you start eating, trying to keep it off all your clothes).

Since there are no falafel stands anywhere close to where I currently live, I put together all the parts for making a great Falafel in Pita at home - It really isn't that difficult.

It starts from a Pita bread recipe baked in the oven (which even bakes with a pocket) and with a trick to keep it nice and soft. The falafel balls are flavored with garlic, and lots of herbs and spices. And I added what for me are the most necessary salads - red cabbage mayonnaise, the most simple vegetable salad, good hummus and spicy zhug.

Pita Bread:

1kg all purpose flour

4 tbsp. sugar

2 tsp. salt

500 ml water (warm water in winter)

10 gr dry yeast (20gr in winter)

a small amount of oil - to keep the dough from sticking

Falafel balls:

2 cups dry chickpeas

1 slice of bread

5 garlic cloves

1 tsp. Cumin powder

1 tsp. Paprika powder

1 tsp. pepper

1/2 tsp. salt

1 small onion

1/3 cup fresh parsley

1/2 cup fresh coriander

1 tbsp. sesame seeds

1 tsp. coriander seeds

2 tsp. baking soda

Red cabbage mayonnaise salad:

1/2 large red cabbage

3/4 tsp. salt

2 tbsp. mayonnaise

3 tbsp. lemon juice

1 tsp real maple syrup

Simplest Vegetable salad- 1 tomato, 1 cucumber, salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste.

Fries - 1 large potato

Hummus - This is the recipe I use.

Zhug (a very spicy pepper paste)- there is a recipe, but you can also substitute it with fresh or pickled sliced chilli peppers.

Mix the flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Add the yeast and make sure it get evenly distributed.

Slowly add the water, while kneading the dough.

Kneed the dough for 10 minutes, until is uniform and soft.

Place the ball of dough in an oiled bowl. Cover with cling-wrap and a damp towel. Place somewhere warm to rise for about 30-60 minutes.

Preheat oven to 250C.

Remove the dough from the bowl and pull into a long sausage. Cut into 8-10 equal pieces.

Roll each into a ball, cover again and let rest for 10 minutes.

On a baking sheet place the balls and flatten them to about 1/2 cm.

Bake till they are golden brown 3-6 minutes - don't let them out of your sight, this is really fast!

A special trick to keep them soft (that I discovered online):

Prepare a clean cloth kitchen towel and a plastic bag.

Remove the pita breads from the oven immediately onto the towel and fold them inside for 1 minute - then place them in the plastic bag and close it completely... It works!

Place the chickpeas in a large bowl, and cover with water. Leave to soak overnight, or at least 12 hours.

Soaking overnight will double the size of the chickpeas, so make sure the bowl is big enough and has enough water.

Soak a slice of bread in water. Meanwhile, wash and drain the soaked chickpeas.

Chop the onion and the fresh parsley and coriander into very small pieces.

Squeeze the water out of the bread and crumble it over the chickpeas. Add the cumin, paprika powder, salt, pepper and garlic.

Grind them together into a uniform grainy paste.

Add the flour, chopped onion and herbs.

Lightly blend together.

Mix in the sesame seeds and coriander seeds.

Cover and leave to rest in the fridge for 30-60min.

Note:

At this point you can put the mix in a sealed container and freeze it for later.

Don't start to fry until everything else for the pita sandwich is ready - falafel balls are best fresh and still warm!

After the mix has rested for 30-60min, add the baking soda. Mix well.

Roll little balls, about a spoonful, no need to squeeze too hard.

Drop into the warm oil and fry until light brown. Remove onto kitchen tissue to cool.

Frying Note:

The oil needs to be hot but not boiling. You can put in a small piece of potato to test the temperature and know when to add the falafel. If the oil is not warm enough the falafel balls will soak up lots of oil before they cook.

Freezing Note:

It is better if the falafel mix is defrosted and then baking soda is mixed in before frying... however, we have frozen unfried falafel balls (with baking soda already mixed in) and then popped them from the freezer into the hot oil and it works...

Cut the cabbage into long thin strips. Place the cabbage in a bowl, sprinkle the salt over it. Cover it with hot water and let it sit for 15-20 minutes.

With you hands, kneed (massage) the cabbage in the water- really crunching it up, and then squeeze out the water and place it in a dry bowl.

Mix in the mayonnaise, lemon juice and maple syrup.

Adjust how sour or sweet you prefer it with more or less mayo and lemon juice.

Notes:

This salad is very similar to, but not exactly like, a coleslaw. Using salt, and hot water on the raw cabbage helps soften it a bit. For the same reason you kneed and crush the cabbage. It makes it easier to put it in the pita bread later.

You can store the salad in a close container in the fridge for a few days (not too long-its mayonaise)

Other necessary additions:

Vegetable salad - This one is so simple:

Cut the tomato and cucumber into small cubes and season with salt, pepper and lemon juice.

Hummus - Some find it controversial, do you need hummus or should you just use tahini? I believe in hummus!! This is my favorite homemade recipe.

Zhug - If you don't want to make some (you can use the recipe from here) you can also add slices of fresh or pickled chilli pepper instead.

Fries - these are definitly optional, but you always find them in the Falafel stand. Cut up a potato into chunky strips and fry together with the falafel balls.

I won't lie, it was hard taking these pictures because there were just too many grabby hands in the middle.

Take your pita bread out of the plastic bag and it should still be nice and soft. If you follow the pita bread recipe, you should get a pita that has an air pocket in the middle (it might need a bit of practice).

Smear in the hummus and stuff in the falafel, wiggle in some fries, and a add little bit of every salad... Eat carefully!