Why was my falafel awful?

[KatyCooks]

Originally Posted by taxlady

We order a "falafel" platter regularly. It comes with hummus, tahini sauce, tabouli, a little bit of pickled turnip, and a pita.

Pickled turnip TL? This has piqued my interest. Just so I know we are talking about the same vegetable - this would be a small white round root vegetable, with a slightly pinkish purple hue to some of the skin?

[taxlady]

Originally Posted by KatyCooks

Pickled turnip TL? This has piqued my interest. Just so I know we are talking about the same vegetable - this would be a small white round root vegetable, with a slightly pinkish purple hue to some of the skin?

Yup, that's the one. There's a North African way of pickling turnips using a lactic acid method. They use beets to make them purple. They are yummy, but you don't want to eat much at once.

[acerbicacid]

Sorry, not falafel but the pickled turnips, really scrummy and a beautiful shocking pink. I use Claudia Roden's recipe - " Pickled Turnips recipe" but there are lots more on the web.

[KatyCooks]

Originally Posted by taxlady

Yup, that's the one. There's a North African way of pickling turnips using a lactic acid method. They use beets to make them purple. They are yummy, but you don't want to eat much at once.

Sounds completely fascinating!

[taxlady]

Originally Posted by acerbicacid

Sorry, not falafel but the pickled turnips, really scrummy and a beautiful shocking pink. I use Claudia Roden's recipe - " Pickled Turnips recipe" but there are lots more on the web.

Thank you for that recipe. I have printed the web page as a PDF.

It isn't clear from the recipe. Do I add the garlic, allspice, and coriander seeds to the brine or straight into the jars? Any idea how many hours of sun per day are needed?

[KatyCooks]

Originally Posted by acerbicacid

Sorry, not falafel but the pickled turnips, really scrummy and a beautiful shocking pink. I use Claudia Roden's recipe - " Pickled Turnips recipe" but there are lots more on the web.

By jove I think I'll try it! I find turnips pretty boring generally, but this could be an interesting way to liven them up. The recipe doesn't actually say what to do with the beetroot, but I guess you just peel it and slice it? Does it need pre-cooking since beetroot usually takes ages to soften? (Certainly a lot longer than turnips).

[acerbicacid]

I add the spices to the jar with the turnips plus 1 unpeeled garlic clove to each jar. I also add ½ cup vinegar with only 2 cups of the water (not sure if this is authentic but I like it). The beetroot is sliced and used raw, it makes the pickle a brilliant wonderful pink . I have never actually tried to eat the beetroot, I think it is just for natural colour, but I do have a recipe that uses raw beetroot in a stack but I wasn't too keen.

As for how long the sun is needed, I just leave it on the kitchen window sill - it gets the sun in the afternoon, if there is any here in the UK!! - for a couple of weeks and hope for the best.

Btw I use raw chickpeas for my falafel.

[KatyCooks]

Originally Posted by acerbicacid

I add the spices to the jar with the turnips plus 1 unpeeled garlic clove to each jar. I also add ½ cup vinegar with only 2 cups of the water (not sure if this is authentic but I like it). The beetroot is sliced and used raw, it makes the pickle a brilliant wonderful pink . I have never actually tried to eat the beetroot, I think it is just for natural colour, but I do have a recipe that uses raw beetroot in a stack but I wasn't too keen.

As for how long the sun is needed, I just leave it on the kitchen window sill - it gets the sun in the afternoon, if there is any here in the UK!! - for a couple of weeks and hope for the best.

Btw I use raw chickpeas for my falafel.

I hadn't spotted that you were a fellow Brit! And I was wondering about just how much sun my pickle jar would get on my kitchen windowsill!

I think I will add a little vinegar to my version too.

[Addie]

Originally Posted by mudbug

Django, a blender should work just fine as long as you've softened them up overnight in water as recommended above.

To get back on subject, grind them in the blender in small amounts. You may have to do it several times with small loads. When you use a blender you need to add liquid. Since the recipe says no liquid until after all the chick peas have been ground, then you must do them in small batches to get the best results.

[KatyCooks]

Originally Posted by Addie

And grind them in the blender in small amounts. You may have to do it several times with small loads. When you use a blender you need to add liquid. Since the recipe says no liquid until after all the chick peas have been ground, then you must do them in small batches.

I'll have no choice about doing it in batches as it happens Addie, since I only have a mini blender!