Falafel in Whole Wheat Pita Pockets, Diabetic Friendly
by Tarla Dalal
We now bring you a famous Mediterranean dish in a diabetic-friendly form!
Falafel is usually made of kabuli chana and deep-fried, but here we have made it with moong dal and cooked it in an appe mould to avoid deep-frying. You also get a good dose of healthy kabuli chana from the hummus!
The third part of this wonderful dish is the whole wheat pita bread. This is available in stores, but you can never be sure if it is made of whole wheat flour, so let’s make that ourselves – this simple recipe will help you master the art of making whole wheat pita bread too.
Once you get all the ingredients ready, it is time to assemble them together into sumptuous Falafel in Whole Wheat Pita Pockets, which you can enjoy occasionally to satisfy the craving for your favourite snacks.
Although this dish involves some effort in preparing each component, it is totally worth the effort because you can be assured of the healthiness and keep your blood sugar levels under check.
Falafel in Whole Wheat Pita Pockets, Diabetic Friendly recipe - How to make Falafel in Whole Wheat Pita Pockets, Diabetic Friendly
Preparation Time: Cooking Time: Total Time:
Makes 12 falafel pita pockets
For The Hummus
1 1/2 cups soaked and boiled kabuli chana (white chick peas)
1/2 cup low-fat curds (dahi)
1 tbsp roughly chopped garlic (lehsun)
1/2 tsp green chilli paste
salt to taste
For The Whole Wheat Pita Pockets
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (gehun ka atta)
1 tsp dry yeast
2 tsp olive oil
salt to taste
whole wheat flour (gehun ka atta) for rolling
For The Falafel
1 cup green moong dal (split green gram)
1 tbsp roughly chopped green chillies
1/2 cup finely chopped parsley
1/4 cup finely chopped spring onions whites and greens
salt to taste
1 3/4 tsp oil for greasing and cooking
To Be Mixed Into A Curd Dressing
1 1/2 cups low-fat curds (dahi)
4 tsp finely chopped garlic (lehsun)
1/2 cup finely chopped spring onions whites and greens
salt to taste
Other Ingredients
6 tsp garlic (lehsun) chutney
12 tbsp shredded iceberg lettuce
36 tomato slices
For the hummus
- For the hummus
- Combine all the ingredients in a mixer and blend till smooth using approx. ½ cup of water. Keep aside.
For the whole wheat pita pockets
- For the whole wheat pita pockets
- Combine the dry yeast and 4 tbsp of water in a bowl and mix well. Cover with a lid and keep aside for 5 minutes or till the dry yeast completely dissolves in the water.
- Combine all the ingredients along with the yeast-water mixture in a deep bowl, mix well and knead into a soft dough using enough water.
- Cover the dough with a wet muslin cloth and allow it to prove for 30 minutes or till the dough doubles in volume.
- Knead the dough to remove the excess air.
- Divide the dough into 6 equal portions and roll out each portion into an oblong of 175 mm. (7”) length and 6 mm. (¼”) thickness using a little whole wheat flour for rolling.
- Heat a non-stick tava (griddle) and cook the pita bread on a medium flame for 1 minute on both the sides or till small blisters are seen.
- Then, cook it on an open flame till it puffs up and brown spots appear on both the sides.
- Cut each pita bread into 2 halves horizontally and keep aside.
For the falafel
- For the falafel
- Soak the green moong dal in enough water for 2 hours. Drain well.
- Combine the drained green moong dal, green chillies and ¼ cup of water and blend till coarse.
- Transfer the mixture into a deep bowl, all the remaining ingredients and mix well.
- Heat an appe mould on a medium flame and grease it using ¼ tsp of oil.
- Put a little mixture of the batter into each of the 7 moulds.
- Cover with a lid and cook, using ¼ tsp of oil, till the lower surface becomes golden brown and then turn each appe upside down using a fork so as to cook them from the other side.
- Repeat steps 5 and 6 to make 41 more falafels in 6 more batches.
How to proceed
- How to proceed
- Take a pita bread halve, spread 1 tbsp of the hummus, ½ tsp of garlic chutney and spread it evenly. Add 4 falafels and top it with 1 ½ tbsp. Curd dressing and finally 1 tbsp of lettuce and 3 tomato slices evenly over it.
- Repeat step 1 to make 11 more falafel in whole wheat pita pockets.
- Serve immediately.
Disclaimer:
- Disclaimer:
- It is highly recommended that this recipe be relished by diabetics only occasionally and in small quantities. This is just a mere ‘treat’ and does not qualify for a regular diabetic menu.
Tara Dalal recipe is always Simple n Easy to make n Healthy Options too... Awesome!
Quite filling!! Nice idea of making moong dal falafel so they bind and cook well in an appe mould... This a way to do away with excess fat. The low-fat curd dressing gives the needed moistness to the pitas and thus make it more appetizing.
But isn''t the nutrition based on 1 serving including the bread n stuff.. So the nutrition wud change???
What can I substitute for yeast??? I HVE allergy to all types of yeast...