Falafel

I've tried many recipes for falafel with precooked chick peas- none of them were good enough. Some of them were mushy, others wouldn't shape well... This-one I tried out of curiosity - it called for presoaked beans. It's perfect; just need to remember 24 hours in advance to soak your chick peas.

Ingredients:

2 cups dried chickpeas
1 medium onion, minced
5 garlic cloves, smashed
1 cup fresh coriander or parsley, chopped finely
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp freshly ground coriander
2 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp red pepper flakes
1 tbsp ( kosher) salt
½ tsp black pepper, freshly ground
Vegetable oil for frying
 
Method:
Soak the chick peas for 24 hours.  Drain and place into food processor.Pulse the chickpeas until they finely chopped . Add all other ingredients; Process until the ingredients are incorporated and the mixture is a pale green ( should still be a  grainy texture). Take spoon fulls (ice cream scoop) of mixture, squeeze gently and roll between your palms. (If difficult to shape, place mixture in the fridge for 20-30 minutes)
Heat an electric fryer or a large saucepan with oil.  The oil should be about 3cm deep and  medium hot.Gently drop the falafels  (few at a time) into the hot oil and fry for about 3-5 minutes, until they're  golden brown.  Remove and place on a paper towel. Serve falafel with yogurt / sour cream / humus and flat bread.  

Probala sam mnoge recepte za falafel sa kuhanim slanutkom - niti jedan mi nije bio po volji. Neki su bili previse sipljivi, drugi se nisu dali formirati... Ovaj sam zapazila i bas me zanimalo kako bi uspjeli sa nekuhanim (samo namocemin) slanutkom. Ispali su jako dobri; samo se treba sjetiti 24 sata prije kuhanja da se slanutak natopi.

Potrebno:

2 solje suhog slanutka / leblebije
1 srednji crveni luk, sitno sjeckan
5 cena bijelog luka, protisnutog
1 solja svjezeg korijandera (ili persuna), sjeckanog sitno
1 k praska za pecivo
2 k korijandera u prahu
2 k kima u prahu
1/2 k 'ljuspica' suhe paprike / cilija
1 K soli
1/2 k  crnog bibera, svjeze mljevenog
Ulje za przenje
Nacin:
Namocite slanutak na 24 sata prije. Ocijedite i stavite u elektricnu sjeckalicu. 
Pulsirajte / meljite slanutak, dodajte i ostale sastojke i izblendirajte sve do zrnaste mase svjetlo zelene boje. Uzimajte smjesu napravom za vadjenbje sladoleda, blago stisnite i formirajte loptice. (Ako ih je tesko formirati stavite smjesu u frizider na 20-30 minuta).
Zagrijte ulje (treba da bude 3 cm i srednje vrelo) 
Pazljivo spustite nekoliko falafela u ulje i przite 3-5 minuta, ili dok ne postanu zlatno-zuti. Ocijedite na upijajucem papiru. Servirajte sa yogurtom / pavlakom/ humusom i nekim tankim (Turskim, Lebaneskim) hljebom. 

Kofta Meshwi

I like using (good quality) minced meat; it's so versatile. It can be grilled, cooked, mixed with other ingredients, used for different sauces and fillings, ...

This is how Lebanese people like to use it!

Ingredients:

500 g mince

1/2 onion, finely chopped

1 cup parsley, finely chopped

1 tbs Lebanese 7-spice powder

(same amount of : nutmeg, ginger, allspice, fenugrek, cloves, cinnamon, black pepper)

1 tsp salt

(vegetable pieces: onion, mushroom, capsicum...)

Method: 

Mix all ingredients for koftas; form little balls and alternatively with vegetables tread them onto wooden skewers. Pan fry in a little oil or grill  them (brushed with oil) turning once. Serve immediately.

Perfect with some rice / cous-cous / potatoes and salad.

Libanske Kofte ('Meshwi')

Volim koristiti recepte sa mljevenim mesom; moze se upotrijebiti na razne nacine. Moze biti grilovano, kuhano, mijesano sa ostalim sastojcima, upotrijebljeno za razlicite soseve i filovanja...
Ovako ga vole koristiti u Libanu!

Sastojci:
500 gr mljevenog mesa
1/2 crvenog luka, sjeckanog
1 solja lisca persuna, sitno sjeckanog
1 K Libanskog zacian 
(mjesavina jednakih dijelova - muskatni orah, djumbir, pimento, fenugrek, karanfilici, cimet, crni biber)
1 k soli
(komadi povrca: luk, gljive, paprika...)
Nacin:
Pomijesajte sve sastojke za kofte; formirajte male loptice pa naizmjenicno sa komadima povrca naslazite na drveni prutic / cackalicu. Isprzite u tavi na malo ulja ili premazite uljem i grilujte na obje strane. Posluzite odmah.
Savrseno sa rizom / krompirom / kus-kusom i salatom.

Lamb Kofta with Humus - Lebanese style

The mix of spices really do wonders for this juicy 'burger'. 

Ingredients:

500 g lamb mince

1-2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 small onion, finelly diced

1/2 tsp coriander powder

1 tsp cumin powder

1/2 tsp paprika, smoked if available

pinch of oregano powder

salt and black pepper, to taste

Humus- 

1 can chick peas, drained, liquid reserved

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 lemon juice, or to taste

1-2 tbs tahini 

2-3 tbs olive oil 

1/2 tsp cumin powder

salt

Slices of lemon, for serving - optional

Oil for frying

Method:

Mix all ingredients well and leave it at least 30 minutes for flavours to develop. Heat oil in a pan, fry both sides of kofta for a few minutes. Meanwhile, blend all ingredients for humus into a smooth paste; add as much liquid from can as you want your humus to be thick. Serve with a good bread, accompanied with  a lemon slice.

Jagnjeci 'Kofta' Libanonskog Stila

Mjesavina zacina koja je koristena u ovom receptu, zaista cini cudo za ovaj 'burger'.

Potrebno:

500 gr jagnjeceg mljevenog mesa

1-2 cena bijelog luka, protisnutog

1 manja glavica crvenog luka, sitno sjeckanog

1/2 k korijander praha

1 k  kima u prahu

1/2 k paprike, dimljene ako je pristupna

prstohvat origana u prahu

so i crni biber prema ukusu

Homus / Humus

1 konzerva slanutka / leblebija, ocijedjena, tecnost sacuvana

2 cena bijelog luka, protisnutog

1 limun, sok (ili prema ukusu)

1-2 K tahini paste

2-3 K maslinovog ulja

1/2 k kima u prahu

so prema ukusu

Reznjevi limuna, za servirati

ulje za prziti

Nacin:

Pomijesajte sve sastojke i sotavite bar pola sata, kako bi se arome razvile. Zagrijte ulje i przite obje strane kofte nekoliko minuta. U medjuvremenu, napravite humus. Miksajte / blendirajte sve sastojke, dodajte dovoljno tecnosti iz konzerve koliko zelite da humus bude gust. Servirajte sa komadom boljeg hljeba/kruha i  sa  kriskom limuna