Saturday, December 29, 2012

Sahadi Falafel Review

As a New Yorker for most of my life, I've been exposed to a diverse set of cultural cuisines. One of my favorites is Middle Eastern cuisine - which frequently highlights falafel - crisp nuggets of fried chckpeas. It's typically available at most 'street meat' carts, which are the hidden treasures of big cities. Falafel is deliciously creamy inside, but wonderfully crusty on the outside. Often accompanied by a yogurt or tahini (sesame paste) sauce, falafel exposes your taste buds to a multitude of spices.

But how can we get these Middle Eastern tastes at home? Sure - you can use your food processor and grind up some chick peas with cumin, coriander, and garlic with a typical falafel recipe. Or - you can go on Amazon and order up Sahadi Falafel mix. If you don't know about Amazon.com and its great deals on everything under the sun - you've been living under a rock. If you didn't know that Amazon has great deals on food items like cereal, chips, and drinks - that's totally understandable. But trust me, it's the place to go if you want cereal for less than $3 a box or this falafel mix for less than $5 a box (12 servings per box).


All you need to do is add some water and you're pretty much ready to go. 
Frankly, I think a 1:1 ratio of mix to water is a bit much. 
Feel free to add less water and you don't need to let the mix stand for 30 minutes.


Just dump some falafel mix into a mixing bowl ...


... add the water ...


... heck even add some feta cheese for an added salty element ...


... and mold the mix into burger patties or falafel balls. Feel free to fry them in a pan or if you want a less messy route - bake them in the oven with olive oil drizzled on some foil ...


... as an accompanying sauce, perhaps mix up some Siracha hot chili sauce and sour cream ...


... to make a delivishly delicious and spicy sauce ...


... and after 20 to 30 minutes in the oven at around 375 to 400 degrees ... 

























you'll be ready to bite into some crispy falafel - ridiculously creamy inside. You'll appreciate the fact that this mix uses fava and garbanzo beans, rather than just wheat flour. You can taste the cumin, garlic, onion, and coriander - delicious spices that coat the palate. This is all cooled off by the accompanying sauce - fresh and light.

And the prep time for Sahadi's Falafel Mix? It can't be beat - you're talking about a few minutes of your precious time. Enjoy!

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