Well hello there! We’ve found ourselves buried in snow here in Colorado Springs. The storm came on Sunday and Monday and we’re still digging out.
In anticipation of the storm, I hit the grocery store Saturday and did some major home cooking /nesting over the last few days. I have ventured out twice. Monday Dave and I dashed to the studio so I could host a live radio interview with Dr. Michael Greger. Did you miss it? You can listen to the show archive here:
Tuesday we traveled all of two miles to the vet for Oliver’s final vaccinations.
The roads were so bad.
Staying mostly in for the past five days, we made lots of warm, comforting meals.
Starting from top left to right: Vicolo corn meal pizza crust with olive oil and garlic as a base and onion, mushrooms, olives, arugula, spinach and vegan mozzarella shreds; Potato Soup from my book Vegan Pressure Cooking; root veggie risotto, Julie’s Original white cake (made in the pressure cooker using Jill Nussinow’s method from her book Vegan Under Pressure); butterscotch pecan brownie doughnuts (with Eat Pastry mix); and a Apple Millet & Oat Porridge (recipe coming soon).
But what I really want to share with you is a very special Sunday meal that just sort of happened. One that started with yogurt and chickpeas.
As some of you know, there are two multicookers in my kitchen: the Fagor LUX and the InstantPot DUO. Both have pressure cooking functions and both have yogurt functions. In fact, I recently created a vegan coconut milk yogurt recipe (pictured) for my friends at Fagor. I followed this recipe – but omitted the sugar and vanilla extract – for a plain yogurt. I set it up on Saturday afternoon and by Sunday morning, it was ready for transfer to the refrigerator. (I like to let it chill for several hours, if not overnight.)
While the yogurt was chilling, I was going about my usual Sunday morning bulk cooking, which included these chickpeas (from Rancho Gordo), in the pressure cooker.
As they were cooling I decided I wanted to make something falafel-like with them. Smothered with yogurt sauce.
I started grabbing spices and seasonings I associate with foods I’ve enjoyed in Turkey, Pakistan, and in the UAE and ended making a Middle Eastern style wild rice dish in the pressure cooker and baked falafel-style slider-sized patties.
Enjoy!
Falafel Patties with Yogurt Sauce
Ingredients (Makes 5 to 6 patties)
For the Falafel Patties
- 1 cup cooked chickpeas
- 3 tablespoons tahini
- Vegan equivalent of 1 large egg [Options: a) use a flaxseed egg by combining 1 tablespoon of ground flax seed with 3 tablespoons of water, b) make an Ener-G egg, c) use The Vegg. I used option C, mixing 2 tablespoons cooking broth from the chickpeas.]
- 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons dried minced onion
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 – 3 tablespoons avocado oil
For the Yogurt Sauce
- 1 cup plain vegan yogurt (I used homemade coconut milk yogurt)
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon dried dill
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- Sea salt, to taste
Instructions
For the Falafel Patties
Pre-heat over to 400F
In a food processor, pulse the first nine ingredients to blend but don’t over process. You want some chunks in there!
Transfer to a medium mixing bowl. Add flour minced onion, parsley and baking powder. Combine well.
Pour 1 to 2 tablespoons oil in a cast iron skillet. Prepare falafel patties by rolling 1/4 cup falafel mix in your hands before flattening. Place patties on the cast iron skillet. Brush oil on top of the patties.
Bake for 24 minutes (12 minutes on each side)
For the Yogurt Sauce
Place all ingredients, except salt, in a blender. Pulse until creamy. Add salt, if desired.
Middle Eastern Wild Rice
Ingredients (Serves 8)
- 1 cup wild rice (I used a wild rice-brown rice blend)
- 1/2 teaspoon each: cumin, turmeric, garam masala, and cinnamon
- 1/2 – 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 3 cups vegetable broth
Instructions
Combine all ingredients in the pressure cooker. Cook on high pressure for 26 minutes. Use a natural release.
I quickly wilted arugula and spinach in a skillet with a little rice vinegar and served it all up together.
This meal is going into our regular meal rotation! Let me know if you try the recipes!
4 thoughts on “Falafel Patties with Yogurt Sauce + Middle Eastern Wild Rice [vegan]”
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This looks amazing! I’m going to start soaking some dried garbanzo beans now! I love your podcast, I listen every week!
@yogadogwalker:disqus, please let me know how you like the patties! I’m making more today! 🙂 And thank you SO MUCH for listening to my radio show! It means the world to me!
Jason and I are seriously considering a move to Denver or somewhere in that area, and when you describe that kind of snow, I am not at all changing my mind! 🙂
I know we’d both love this exact dish – we WILL be trying soon!
Aw, but truthfully, @spabettie:disqus, that kind of snowfall is unusual in the Springs. We have surprisingly mild winters! But we’ll keep the snow stories going to deter overcrowding! 😉