Sheila’s Bollywood Falafels
ingredients -
½ cup quinoa dry (we like the red quinoa but white is fine too, or maybe half and half)
¼ a cup of filtered tap water to cook the quinoa
Generous pinch each of smoked paprika & curry powder to cook with the quinoa
1 large sized sweet potato (peeled)
Tablespoon of virgin coconut oil
1 small red onion diced
2 inch piece of ginger minced
2-6 garlic cloves (to your taste) - chopped well
½ tsp pink or sea salt
½ tsp garam masala
¼ tsp good quality curry powder
¼ tsp mustard seed
Good quality sea salt or pink Himalayan salt
Black pepper
⅛ tsp cayenne pepper (or more to your personal taste)
a handful of fresh cilantro* - chopped well
2 eggs slightly beaten (or if you prefer to make these vegan, 2 TBS flax or chia seeds mixed with 4 tbsp water and left to soak/expand )
You can also add a few sauteed crimini mushrooms if you like - we loved it with these too!
wax or parchment paper, a baking tray
fresh cut cilantro or basil for topping
* you can add tarragon, basil, or other fresh herbs of choice if you prefer. I added a little swiss chard to the last batch and that worked too.
how to -
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
Rinse your quinoa very well (always) by placing in a sieve and running under the tap to remove all saponins.
Bring to a boil half a cup of filtered water, add pinch of smoked paprika and curry powder, then add the rinsed quinoa, turn down the heat and simmer until cooked (about 12-16 minutes, depending on your stove top) - set aside once cooked.
Peel and chop your sweet potato into small cubes - saute in coconut oil on the stove top for a couple of minutes and then finish roasting them in the oven - until tender and easily "mashable".
When they're cooked, place them in a large bowl, add a little sea salt and mash well - the coconut oil should be sufficient to help you mash it.
Combine all the rest of the ingredients and mix very well, leaving the egg for last. The egg will hold your patties together.
Cover a baking tray with wax or parchment paper.
Form your mixture into "patties" (it should make about 8-10 of them), and place each one on the covered baking tray.
Bake them for 15 minutes (set a timer), then flip and do the other side for another 15 minutes, or until golden.
Sprinkle with some extra chopped fresh cilantro.
Serve with a lovely arugula, cucumber and avocado salad. They're a perfect compliment to a roof top or other al fresco summer-dining picnic.
