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Falafel:
1 medium onion, finely chopped or grated
1/2 cup fresh or 1/4 cup dried parsley
2 cloves garlic, chopped
One 15-ounce can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained
1 egg
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon dried or 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon oregano
Dash cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
1 tablespoon flour
Oil for frying or nonstick vegetable spray
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In food processor place onion, parsley, and garlic. Pulse until finely minced. Add drained chickpeas and pulse just until they are mashed, but not a paste You want very small chunks of beans. (You could also press the garlic, grate the onion, and mash the chickpeas with a fork, if you don’t have a food processor.)
Transfer to a bowl and mix in the egg, cumin, cilantro, salt, pepper, oregano, cayenne, lemon juice, baking powder, bread crumbs, and flour. Stir in the bread crumbs. Allow to sit for 10 minutes to allow the crumbs to soak up the liquids and the patties will hold together better.
Heat a small amount of oil in a nonstick frying pan, or spray with nonstick spray. Heat pan over medium-low. Form patties from 1/8 cup of falafel mixture. These are soft so keep them more rounded, as they will flatten slightly when turned. Fry patties until golden brown on each side. Serve with Tzatziki sauce. Makes about 14 patties.
Tzatziki:
3/4 cup thick plain Greek-style yogurt such as Fage’ (or drain plain, regular yogurt very well)
3 tablespoons sour cream
1/2 cucumber, peeled, seeded and grated – squeezed of excess water
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon Splenda/sugar
1 teaspoon dried or 2 tablespoon fresh dill weed
Kosher salt and black pepper to taste
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In a small mixing bowl blend together the yogurt, sour cream, grated cucumber, garlic powder, Splenda/sugar, dill weed. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Chill. This is best if made a couple hours in advance.
(WLS serving is 2 patties and 2 tablespoon sauce.) Per Serving: Calories 156; Protein 10 g; Fat 5 g; Carbs 11g; Sugar 3 g; Sodium 248 mg