Mujaddarah and Falafel for AWED

Mujaddarah

With the announancement of middle western cuisine at Siri's place ,I was searching for many recipes that were vegetarian , I came across these two , One is Mujaddarah and other is famous falafel .
Mujaddarah is a comfort food eaten fondly in Middle Eastern Region , specially in Syrian and Lebanese cuisine.This is basically a one pot meal where rice and Lentils are cooked together , Authenticity is maintained if you don’t add much spice, the flavor is due to the slow cooking of rice and Lentils together .While we often add Garam Masala or Black Pepper powder, Originally the recipe doesn’t include any of them . Recipe Link For Mujaddarah .

Recipe Requirements
Rice – ¾ cup (I have used boiled rice instead of Basmati rice)
1 1/3 cup of lentils (preferably French green lentils or Masoor dal)
2purple onions chopped into fine rings or finely chopped
1 tsp of cumin powder
1 ½ tsp of salt
Some raisins
Some cashews (optional)
6-7 tbs of oil (original recipe calls for olive oil, I have used vegetable oil instead of olive oil)
3-4 cups of water or vegetable broth
Method
Clean the lentil, pick any stones foundand then wash it in running water 2-3 times.
Bring apot of water to boiland add the lentils, cook for 15-17 mints.Add cumin powder.
Add the washed rice ,TIP- its better if you soak the rice for 1hrs prior to making Mujaddarah .
Cook again at low for 30-40 mints till the rice-lentil mixture is cooked.Add the half of the fried brown onions and keep the remaining for serving.
TIP-Let it sit there for 10 mints before you serve mujaddarah. Mine was little watery ,see first pic and later after sitting for 10-12 mints it thickened ,see in second pic.
Serve it with a bowl of Yogurt and tomato salad.
Mujaddarah can be well paired with any Greek Salad .People often substitute Yogurt with Sour Cream, but Originally the recipe goes well with Yogurt and fried brown onion.
This is one meal which my Toddler Likes to eat .

Falafel
I am greatly inspired by this recipe for Falafel, Vegen Friendly Falafel .Although I must admit that we have adapted to suit our taste and also I was short of some ingredients ,so completely skipped those ingredients Like Parsley etc. .We loved eating falafel and It’s a great appetizer also .
I guess falafel is more or less very similar to the fritters we make out of boiled potato and some Lentils. It reminds me of My favorite Bengali Fritter ,Musoor dal(Red Lentil) er Boda in which the lentil is soaked 2-3 hrs and then the Lentil is made into paste ,then chopped onion , green chilly is added and then they are deep fried .
Here is the recipe which worked fine for us
Recipe Requirements

11/2 cup of chick peas(soak them overnight for 10-12 hrs, rinse them well in water before making paste)
3-4 Bread Slices – easiest way to make home-made bread crumbs is to process in a mixer.
2 medium size potato boiled and mashed .
2 tsp of cumin powder
1 tsp of coriander powder
1 tsp of red pepper powder
1 ½ tsp of salt
olive oil for frying and adding to the batter (I have used vegetable oil instead of olive oil)
1tsp of baking soda
1 onion
Method
Make a paste of chick peas in a blender, Take them out in a bowl.
Add all the powders, salt ,oil.and baking soda .
Add bread crumbs and boiled potato ,little bit of salt and mix them well .
Mix in all the two mixtures and make small balls diameter of 1 inch each, refrigerate them for 3-4 hrs .
When you are ready to fry them, heat a heavy bottom Pan, wok , add oil for frying ,make sure to add at least 2-3 inch deep oil, check the oil if its ready to deep fryTIP- by adding little bit of cumin seeds ,if it floats on top simmering, the oil is ready to deep fry Falafel.
Fry the falafel of abatch of 4-5 for 5mints at low till the color changes to brown .Repeat this step for other falafel Balls .
Take them out and drain them over tissue paper or paper towels.
Serve with Tahini (Sesame seed Paste) .
We had it with Maggi Hot and sweet Sauce and it taste great .
This is going to Siri at Siri's Corner ,here are the details of this lovely event AWED -middle eastern Cuisine event originally conceptualized by DK at Culinary Bazaar her wondefrful site , visit her also .