If you have been to the middle east, you would be familiar with the good old Filafil, or at least you wouldn't want to miss having these while on a tour. These vegan chickpea patties, ground with parsley are loved by kids and grownups alike. Healthy ingredients, healthy snack(if you just ignore the deep frying for a bit). Have it along with a garlic dip(thum) or tuck it into pita bread pockets(khubus) with salad and labnah(thick Curd), and your middle eastern sandwich is ready. These make an excellent breakfast, snack or dinner option. Crispy crust outside and soft green inside.
It had always been a quick snack remedy, just a call away until my dear sister Sameera shared the filafil recipe. From then on its been homemade only. Thanks to the easily available ingredients and effortless method.
Ok, so I decided to give this humble Filafil a makeover and turn it Pink from green. Not compromising much on taste, just to allow the Beetroot to join the club. Ya, I must confess my dislike towards beetroot, but that's what I always do, turn the table. Transform my dislike to a beauty just to incorporate it in my diet. 
Raw pink patty...
Hot Beetroot Filafil, doesn't look much different from the regular filafil from the outside. Check the inside.
And it was a hit, and found place in my blog. Happy ending.
No that's not the end, just one part of the sandwich. Here is the better half.
Khubus, (Pita bread) is a famous bread in the middle east. And is at its best taste when eaten hot out of the oven. Is wiped out in a flash right then. Not many of us are fortunate enough to get it soft and warm, so here is the recipe of Khubus which could be enjoyed hot and soft in the comfort of your home. If you knew how easy it is to make khubus at home, I bet you will never have a store bought one anymore. Easy? I will say easy like making a chapati. (just add some proofing time to chapati making)
That puffed up balloon ensures that it is cooked inside and that pocket has formed in the Khubus.
Stack it up in a cotton towel and cover it to retain softness.
Check out the soft pocket. Don't be disheartened if the pockets are not formed, they are still tasty without them, place the filafil in one corner of the Khubus with labnah and salad. Roll the khubus like a Shawarma. By the way you could stuff it with Chicken mix, arabic spices and have a Shawarma, or just simply dip it in Thum( garlic dip) or Hummus(chickpea dip) which tastes equally good.
Freshness overload!
Will be posting the ingredients of both Regular Filafil and Beetroot Filafil. Not much of a change in terms of taste really. And if parsley is not available in your locality, you could substitute it with coriander leaves. Tastes good. But you will miss out the authentic Parsley Filafil taste I must say.
Ingredients
- Regular Filafil Ingredients
- To Grind:-
- Chickpeas-1/2 Cup Soaked overnight
- Green Peas-1/2 Cup Soaked overnight
- Garlic-3-4 cloves
- Sesame seeds-1 tsp
- Parsley-1 Cup
- Cumin-1/2 tsp
- Green chillies- 2-3
- Beetroot Filafil Ingrdients
- To Grind:-
- Chickpeas-1 Cup
- Beetroot grated- 1 medium
- Garlic- 3-4 cloves
- Sesame seeds-1 tsp
- Parsley-1 Cup
- Cumin-1/2 tsp
- Green chillies- 2-3
- Other Ingredients to mix:-
- Onion- 1Cup(chopped)
- Sesame seeds-1 tsp
- Besan Gram flour)-3 tbsp
- Burgul (broaken wheat)3-4 tbsp
- Coriander leaves- handful chopped
- Baking powder-1/2 tsp
- Black Pepper powder-1/2 tsp
- Salt to taste
- Oil for frying.
- For the Pita bread:-
- All purpose flour-1 1/2 cups
- Warm water- 1/2 Cup
- Salt -1 tsp
- Active or dry yeast-1 tsp
- Olive oil- 1 tsp
Directions
- For the Filafil:-
- 1Grind all the ingredients of regular/ beetroot Filafil, mentioned under "to grind". Grind to a smooth mixture. Remove mixture in a mixing bowl and add the remaining ingredients mentioned under"other ingredients to mix". Mix well. Allow to rest for 15 mins.
- 2Heat oil for deep frying. Take 1 1/2 tbsp of the mixture and make round patties and deep fry till the outer crust turns a dark golden brown. Once done remove on kitchen towel and let drain. Serve hot with Hummus(chickpea dip) or Thum(garlic dip) or tuck it into pita bread, with labnah spread on the inside and loaded with mixed veg salad.
- For the Pita Bread:-
- 1If you are using dry yeast, add the dry yeast and water in a mixing bowl, allow to sit till it dissolves(about 5-8 mins). In case if you are using instant yeast just mix water and yeast, you don't have to wait. Just go to the 2nd step directly.
- 2To the water-yeast mixture add salt, olive oil and 1 1/4 cups of flour. (save the remaining flour to use while kneading) Mix until a shaggy dough is formed.
- 3Sprinkle some flour on a clean work surface. Pour out the dough and knead it for about 5-8 mins, sprinkling saved flour as and when needed if the dough sticks to the surface. (avoid using additional flour, sprinkle enough at intervals to keep the dough from sticking to your hands or the work surface) It's always good to use less flour than too much.
- 4Transfer the dough back to the same bowl after filming the bowl with some oil. Cover with a cloth or clingfilm. Allow the dough to rise to double. Takes about an hour. Once it has raised to double , you can make few pitas, and store the remaining dough in the fridge and use it later. Dough stays good for a week in the fridge.
- 5Though the Pitas are made in huge ovens in bakeries or traditionally on baking stone ovens. But here, to keep things simple I am going with the stove top cooking method, without compromising on taste or texture.
- 6Punch the dough down, give a quick knead. Divide the dough into 8 parts. Roll each piece to a circle of about 8-9 inches with 1/4 inch thickness. Heat a fry pan till drops of water sprinkled on its surface sizzle immediately. Put the pita on the pan, leave it for 30 secs, till you see small bubbles begin to form. Flip it over and allow to cook for another 30-40 secs. Flip it over again to toast its surface with light brown patches, and now you will see the pita blow up like a balloon. Don't be disheartened if it doesn't blow like a balloon, and only small bubble patches appear. Try, by gently pressing with a clean towel on the sides of the pita and watch it blow up.(if it doesn't happen still, don't worry, take it off heat it tastes good still).
- 7Take the pita off heat, stack and wrap it in a clean towel to maintain softness. To make the Filafil sandwich, cut the Pita bread into half with a scissor. Gently open the pocket, spead a spoon of Labnah. place the fried Filafis(2-3). Fill up with mixed veg Salad(chopped, onion,cucumber, tomato, parsley mixed with lemon juice and salt) Or just have the Pita(khubus) by itself, along with Hummus (chickpea dip) or Thum (garlic dip) Enjoy!
- Note:
- 1If you are planning to make the Filafil pita bread sandwich, then start with kneading the dough to save time. You can get going with the Filafil preparation during the dough proofing time.
