Falafel

• 1½ cups dried chickpeas, soaked in cold water overnight

• 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped

• 3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped

• ½ cup coriander leaves (6-7 sprigs), coarsely chopped

• ½ cup parsley (6-7 sprigs), coarsely chopped

• ¼ cup mint leaves (4-5 sprigs), coarsely chopped

• 1½ teaspoons salt

• 1 tablespoon coriander powder

• ½ teaspoon ground cumin powder

• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

• 2 green chillies (optional)

• Vegetable Oil / Canola oil for deep frying

Instructions

1. Dump the chickpeas in a large bowl and add ½ teaspoon baking soda. Add water till it fills the bowl and let it sit at room temperature overnight for 8-10 hours. The next day, drain.

2. Chop the greens ( I use coriander leaves, mint leaves and parsley) roughly. Set aside. Add in the rest of the ingredients along with the greens. Basically dump all the ingredients in your mixer. Work in batches if necessary. You need to grind the mixture to a slightly coarse paste. Do not add any water while grinding. For every pulse in your mixer, open the jar and slightly mix everything so the mixture gets ground evenly. Resist your urge to add water. Once you feel that the mixture has become a coarse paste, Set aside. The coarse texture is important for this recipe.

3. Make small balls using your palm. Shape the mixture into 1½ inch balls and set aside. Make sure not to pack or press too hard in-between your hands. Heat oil in a pan and add the falafel balls when the oil is hot. Do not disturb the oil for the first minute. The falafel mixture is very fragile and may break open if you try to maneuver them in oil. After a minute, try to turn the falafels. Cook the falafels till its brown. Make sure to work in small batches to keep your oil nice and hot, which keeps your falafel tender and crispy.

4. Serve the falafels with hummus.

Banana Bread

Unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

2 large eggs, beaten

1/2 cup neutral oil or melted butter

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 large, very ripe bananas, mashed (1 cup)

Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour a 8 1/2-by-4 1/2-inch metal loaf pan. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. In another bowl, whisk eggs with oil (or butter), sugar and mashed bananas. Stir banana mixture into dry ingredients.

Scrape batter into prepared pan and bake in the center of the oven for about 50 minutes, until bread is golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Transfer pan to a rack and let cool for 15 minutes, then turn bread out onto rack and let cool completely. Dust top with confectioners' sugar, cut into slices and serve.

Chicken Shawarma

For Shawarma:

Chicken Thigh - 6 pc, deboned

Oil - 3 1/2 tbsp.

Coriander powder - 1 tsp

Cumin powder - 1 1/2 tsp

Chilli powder - 1 1/2 tsp

All Spice - 1/4 tsp

Garlic - 1 clove, grated

Salt & Pepper

Place the Chicken Thighs in a Ziploc bag with Oil, Corinader powder, Cumin powder, Chilli powder, Allspice, Garlic, required Salt and Pepper. Rub in until fully incorporated. Seal the bag and let marinate in refrigerator for at least 30 min.

Preheat grill to med-high heat.

After marinating, use the skewers to pierce the pieces of Chicken through the center. Slide the pieces down leaving enough room for you to hold the skewer, about 3 pieces of Chicken per skewer. Continue this process until all the Chicken is skewered. Place on a hot Oiled grill top for 4 minutes per side.

For Tomato Cucumber Relish:

Olive Oil - 2 tbsp.

Apple Cider Vinegar - 2 tsp

Oregano - 1 tsp

Tomato - 2, diced

Cucumber - 1, chopped

Garlic - 1 clove, grated

Lemon - 1, juiced

Onion - 1, diced

Parsley leaves, chopped

Salt and Pepper

Mix Olive Oil, Apple Cider Vinegar, Oregano, Tomatoes, Cucumber, Garlic, Lemon juice, Onion, Parsley along with required Salt and Pepper. Keep aside.

For Tahini Sauce:

Tahini paste - 1/4 cup

Olive Oil - 1 tbsp.

Lemon - 1/2, juiced

Salt

In a medium bowl, combine Tahini paste with Olive Oil, Lemon juice, 1/4 cup Water and required Salt.

Pita - 4

To serve, fill the Pitas with the grilled Chicken, Cucumber relish and Tahini sauce.