Falafel Pita Pockets

This post is dedicated to Lauren's mom, Mrs. Witek. I was never really that big of a fan of falafel before, but after Mrs. Witek demanded to have some falafel in August during our exploration of Harvard Square, I have been longing for falafel during random times. When Brian visited in March/April, we tried out two falafel mixes bought from Star (the local grocery store). We decided that this brand was better because it was easier to form, fry, and tastier (not to mention, also cheaper at $2.99!). I bought this again last week because I wanted something other than leftovers and sandwiches for lunch (but I ended up making this and eating it for dinner today). On this box, the directions to make the falafel are on the side, but the back has recipes for falafel chili and breaded chicken and wings, which I should try one day.

You take the mix out (I just mixed the whole package, which is 2 cups of mix) and mix it with 1.5 cups of water (the original ratio on the box is 1 cup mix and 3/4 cup water). Mix it well and let it rest for 30 minutes. I just left it sitting on the kitchen counter; I don't think you need to put it in the fridge. After 30 minutes, you want to shape them into balls (or somewhat flat cylindrical figures because it'd be easier to shove those in a pita pocket), like the picture below.

Flat-ish balls

Oops. I forgot, when the mix was resting, I made a yogurt-cucumber sauce. I chopped up like...2 inches of cucumber (I mostly did this by eye) and minced it into small pieces. I threw that into a small container of yogurt. Mince a clove of garlic (I like to chop mine extraaaa small because I dislike biting into garlic, especially raw garlic) and throw that in as well. Mix it up, and that was my yogurt-cucumber sauce! Super easy.

While I was shaping the balls, I heated up a small pot of vegetable oil (the box says 2 inches of oil). Then I place the ball into the hot oil to let it fry to a golden brown (until it floats). After taking the falafel out, I put it on a plate lined with a paper towel and I gently pat the excess oil off. I ended up frying all of my falafel mix because I figured that I would save oil and do it all in one go.

I fried 2 patties at a time

Looks more golden-brown with the flash on

Look at that delicious pile of vegetarian goodness!!! (I couldn't resist and took a bite out of the one on the right, hehe!)

Haha, see how that pita pocket is ripping already from the awesomeness of the falafels! I used 1.5 patties for 1/2 a pita (hence the pita pocket...if that makes any sense), added some yogurt-cucumber sauce (it actually needed more) and some sliced cucumbers. This is incredibly filling and you wouldn't even have thought it would be!

I'm so excited that I now have lunch (or dinner...) for a couple days now :D yay!!