If you are a major fan of shawarma, dig into a healthy, homemade version.

Nadiya Sarguroh's Falafel Wrap is stuffed with crispy patties made of chickpeas, hummus, a salad of chopped cucumber, tomatoes and greens, and served with a drizzle of ghar mein bana hua tahini-based sauce.

These wraps can be enjoyed by kids and grown-ups alike, and make for satisfying lunch box treats.

Note, it is also considerably cheaper than the ones you order online.   

Lawyer-food blogger Nadiya always surprises us with simple recipes for popular restuarant fare to try at home that can instantly elevate you to a chef.

Falafel Wrap

Servings: 6

Ingredients

For the falafel

• 1 cup or around 225 gm dried kabuli channa or chickpeas, soaked, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup roughly chopped fresh parsley
• 1 cup chopped fresh green dhania or coriander or cilantro leaves
• 1 tsp jeera or cumin powder
• ½ tsp dhania or coriander power
• ½ tsp red chilly powder
• ½ tsp baking powder
• 1 small onion, roughly chopped
• 2 garlic pods, minced
• 2 tbsp aata or wheat flour or maida or all-purpose flour
• Salt to taste, around 1½ tsp
• Water
• Oil to deep fry the falafels

For the salad

• 1½ tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• ¼ tsp black pepper powder
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 small cucumber, finely chopped
• 1 small tomato, finely chopped
• 1½ cups finely chopped mixed greens
• Salt to taste, around ½ tsp

For the tahini sauce

• 1 cup yoghurt or vegan yoghurt
• 1½ tbsp tahini paste
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• Handful fresh parsley, chopped
• Pinch salt

For the assembly

• 6 pita breads
• 1 cup hummus

Method

For the falafel

• In a blender jar add the chopped parsley, coriander, onion, garlic, cumin powder, coriander powder, red chilly powder, baking powder, flour, salt.
  Add the washed, drained and rinsed chickpeas.
  Blend the mixture well, adding a little water, and taking care not to make it too runny -- it needs to be a thick batter.
  Transfer the falafel mixture into a large bowl.
  Cover it with a cling wrap and refrigerate for 1-2 hours or overnight.
  Take the mixture out of the refrigerator and using your hands, shape into small balls of 1½ inch diameter and flatten into discs.
  The mixture should yield about 18-20 falafels.
• Heat the oil in a deep frying pan or kadhai and fry the falafels till golden brown, flipping halfway.
  Drain onto a tissue or paper towel-lined plate.
• Alternately, grease the air-fryer basket with a dash of oil.
  Place about 8 falafels in the basket.
  Brush them with a little more oil.
  Cook at 170°C for 20 minutes.
  Flip the falafels halfway through the cooking, brush the flipped side with a dash more of oil, and continue to cook for another 10 minutes.
  Take the falafels out once they turn golden brown on both sides and transfer onto a plate.
  Keep aside.

For the salad

• In a medium-sized bowl, mix the chopped cucumber, tomato and the mixed greens.
  For the dressing, in a small bowl mix the olive oil, black pepper, lemon juice, salt.
  Pour the dressing over the salad and mix well.
  Keep aside.

For the tahini sauce

• Mix the yoghurt, tahini paste, salt and the lemon juice.
  Sprinkle some chopped parsley over it.
  Keep aside. 

To assemble

• On a tava or frying pan, warm the pita bread on both the sides, until fluffy and take off heat.
  Transfer to a flat surface and spread 1 generous tbsp each of the hummus and salad on each pita bread.
  On each pita bread, then add 2 falafels, drizzle some tahini sauce and wrap.
  Serve warm.

Nadiya's Note: Do not used canned chickpeas as it will make the batter runny.

If your batter doesn't hold together, add some more flour to it.

Make sure to refrigerate the batter for at least one hour.

You can also pan fry or oven bake the falafels.

Editor's Note: For a hummus recipe, use Vrushali Kulkarni Negandhi's jaldi-five recipe to make Creamy Rich Hummus from scratch.

To make pita at home, try Vindhya Karwa's recipe for Pita Bread.

For a Jain version, skip the onion and the garlic.

Nadiya Sarguroh lives in Mumbai and publishes the food blog HautePot.

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