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The Best Healthy Falafel-style Pita with Dreamy Pink Goddess Sauce

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That bite into a warm and soft pita filled with a giant dollop of hummus, that coleslaw, the crispy deep fried falafel and that yummy yoghurt-mayonnaise sauce on top. Sounds heavenly doesn’t it? As good as it sounds, it is really everything else than healthy. But we do not want to miss out on that deliciousness. So why not making it healthy?

What is special about this dish?

A lot to be fair. We have falafel, that are not deep fried, as traditional falafel would be but pan fried. Then we have a pink tahini and greek yoghurt sauce (which I have never seen at any of those falafel stands before) instead of the mayonnaise yoghurt dressing and we have a homemade tzatziki and self-made hummus for that extra flavour .

First, what is falafel and where does it come from?

Falafel is a ball made out of chickpeas or cassava beens combined with different spices and herbs before it is deep fried. Usually it is served in a pita bread or to go with hummus or other mezze appetisers. It is believed to have originated in Egypt and can be found in the Middle Eastern cuisine today.

Why are falafel not very healthy?

While many people would believe that falafel are healthy because they are made out of chickpeas and are vegan, that is not quite the case. That is true, that the base of the falafel is healthy, so the „dough“ is healthy. But what is not nutritious about them then? The fact that they are deep fried. All of the oil adds a lot of fat and calories. It is more than fine to have fried food once in a while but it is not something that is healthy, one needs to be aware of that.

Authentic falafel are made with raw chickpeas that have been soaked. This way they are soft enough to blend but not too soft so you do not have a mushy consistency. But since we do not all have the time to soak falafel (especially when we want a quick meal), in here we use flour for the right consistency and canned falafel. This way they will not be white as crispy, but they are way quicker and still delicious!

How to make this dish healthy

Instead of deep frying the falafel, we prepare them in a pan with just a little oil. Yes, you can also bake them in the oven but to be honest, I never find that those get really crispy when being prepared in the oven. When making them in the pan, we still get that crisp (not the exact same of course, but a really good one) while keeping things healthy.

Also, to replace the mayo dressing that often comes on top we make a beetroot-greek yoghurt – tahini dressing. While homemade mayonnaise, in moderation is not unhealthy, store bought ones often have a lot of additives and preservatives in them and making your own one is a little tricky. The sauce we are making is high in protein, from the greek yoghurt, tastes delicious with the beets (and also has a nice colour), and has a good amount of healthy (or unsaturated fats) from the Tahin.

To make this entire dish even healthier you can substitute the normal pita with whole grain pita. This just is pretty difficult to find, which is the reason I stick with normal pita.

How do you make healthy falafel

This is super easy, to be honest. You need to drain canned chickpeas and add them to a food processor along with a bunch of parsley, onion, garlic, spices, and (wholewheat) flour. Then you just pulse everything together until you have reached a sticky, doughy consistency. (if you do not have a food processor or blender you can also add everything to a bowl, very finely chopped and mix it with a fork or your hands). Then you form little balls with your hand, one at a time and roll them in breadcrumbs.
In a hot pan with oil, you add the falafel and let them fry until crisp for about 3 minutes on each side. That is it!

Meal prep friendly?

I would say so. Pack everything separately and mix together before eating. The falafel will not be quite as crisp anymore but they’ll be just fine when you heat them up in the oven.

I hope that you will enjoy this recipe and please your family and friends with it!

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The best falafel-style pita with dreamy pink goddess sauce

A healthy version of the dreamy Middle Eastern classic. A little crispy on the outside, super soft soft on the inside falafel with a creamy delicious Tahini-Beetroot Sauce, Tzatziki and Hummus. Not difficult, but really healthy.

Course Appetizer, dinner, lunch, Main Course
Cuisine middle eastern
Prep Time 25 Minuten
Cook Time 10 Minuten
Total Time 35 Minuten
Servings 4 servings
Calories 397 kcal

What you will need

For the falafel:

  • 1 can chickpeas
  • 2-3 tbsp flour (whole grain is prefered)
  • 1/2 red onion
  • 1 bunch parsley
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • breadcrumbs
  • 2 tbsp olive oil

For the beet sauce

  • 1 small beetroot (precooked)
  • 100 g greek yoghurt
  • 1 tbsp Tahin
  • 1/2 lemon juiced
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 2 tsp honey

For the rest:

  • 1 cucumber
  • 200 g greek yoghurt
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 2 pita breads
  • some hummus
  • fresh radishes & tomatoes
  • 2 handful salad

How to

  1. For the falafel combine all the ingredients, except the breadcrumbs, flour and olive oil in a food processor and pulse until combined (do not blend until smooth!!!). Then add the flour a tablespoon at a time and pulse it in (not blending fully, again!) until the dough is not sticky anymore. Chill in the frisge for half an hour.

  2. In the meanwhile peel the cucumber. Then cut into very thin slices (preferably with a mandoline). Add it into a bowl and salt generously. Let sit for 20 minutes.

  3. In the meantime slice up the raidshes and tomatoes and wash the salad.

  4. For the beetroot sauce add all of the ingredients to a food processor and blend until smooth. If the sauce is too thick add some water or olive oil!

  5. After chilling take about 1 tablespoon at a time of the falafel dough and roll out in your hands into a small ball. Toss in the breadcrumbs until they cover the ball fully. Repeat with the rest of the dough. Heat up the oil in a pan and add the falafel. Let fry on this side for about 2-3 minutes on medium high heat before tossing. Do not toss around in the pan immediately since the dough still is a little bit soft. After those 2-3 minutes, start tossing them around in a pan softly and fry for another 5-6 minutes until they are golden brown on each side and crispy.

  6. Prepare the Tzatziki. Take a clean kitchen towl and place the salted and sliced cucumber in it. Squeeze out all of the remaining water of the cucumber and put it back into the bowl. Press the garlic and add it along with the greek yoghurt. Combine everything well and season with more salt if desired.

  7. To serve fill the pita with hummus, the veggies and the tzatziki. Add the falafel on top and drizzle with the sauce. Serve and enjoy !

Happy cooking,
Enjoy,
Katie // Une Petite Cusinière

Curry Noodle Soup with Lemongrass Meatballs

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This dish honestly is one of my favourite things I have ever made. It is just so good. And so family friendly. The combination of a creamy slightly spicy and refreshing soup with fresh vegetables, dense meatballs and soft noodles. It just is so good. Unbelievable good.

It is something the entire family will love. Meatballs are always a family staple in my opinion and noodles are too. If there are family members who don’t eat meat, they only do veggies and noodles, if there are some who are not the biggest fan of vegetables they can leave them out. It is really versatile and really good.

I do not know how I came up with that Idea but I think I somehow wanted a curry and a noodle soup at the same time so I combined it. And I knew I couldn’t go without some meat for my brother and my dad so I decided to try out something different, something that could easily be eaten in a sop and decided to go for meatballs.

Ground chicken or veal work best for the meatballs but pork or beef works fine too. I have to say though, that I have never tried it out with vegetable mince, because I am worried that this will probably fall apart. Other than the meat in the balls go some lemongrass, fresh is best but dried (in powder) works alright too, some ginger, garlic, soy sauce and cornstarch to hold everything together. It all is diced up finely and then mixed together before being formed into meatballs.

As the base of the soup we use chicken broth because it has most flavour and add in ginger, lemongrass and spring onions to add some asian flavours to the broth. This is all being poured over some curry paste and after simmering for a little while also some canned coconut milk goes into the pot. Coconut milk is such a great addition into soups because it makes everything so much creamier and richer plus it adds a ton of flavour. It really is a healthy go-to for soups!

To finish the meal of we add some pasta to the soup for some carbs and texture. Here I recommend using soba ur glass noodles. Soba noodles are my preferred choice. They originally come from Japan and are made from buckwheat flour. They taste super delicious and have more fibre and protein than regular pasta. If you do not find them near you, you can also substitute them for glass noodles.

And of course, we need some vitamins too, so we are adding some vegetables! Here you can use whatever is in your fridge! Personally, I would recommend using mushrooms, carrots, pak choy, cauliflower, asparagus an broccoli. but if you have any other favourites you are free to add them!

Preparing it all takes a little time because everything needs to be chopped but it is a fun thing to do. Especially forming the meatballs is something kids will love.

I love making this dish as a lunch or a delicious dinner because it is packed with flavour, and nutrients. The entire family loves it and you can still enjoy it the next day if there is something left over (although there probably will be none)!

I hope that this gives you some inspiration to cook good and healthy food for your entire family or just for yourself.

Happy cooking,
Katie // Une Petite Cuisinière

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Curry Noodle Soup with Lemongrass Meatballs

Best soup you will ever make. Spicy and creamy base with dense deliciously fresh meatballs, soft vegetables and dedicant noodles. The best thing ever.

Course bowl, dinner, lunch, Main Course
Cuisine asian, thai
Prep Time 30 Minuten
Cook Time 30 Minuten
Total Time 1 Stunde
Servings 4 servings
Calories 596 kcal

What you will need

For the Meatballs:

  • 400 g ground chicken
  • 1 stalk lemongrass
  • 4 cm ginger
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 1 spring onion
  • 1 tbso soy sauce
  • 3 tbsp cornstarch maybe a bit more
  • 1 tbsp oil

For the soup:

  • 25 g curry paste
  • 1,5 l chicken broth
  • 2 stalks lemongrass
  • 6 cm ginger
  • 2 spring onions
  • 400 ml coconut milk (1 can)
  • 100 g mushrooms *
  • 100 g broccoli *
  • 100 g carrots *
  • 100 g cauliflower *
  • 1 pak choy
  • 150 g soba noodles
  • some fresh spring onions

How to

That is how it works:

  1. For the meatballs peel and mince the lemongrass, ginger and spring onions finely. Combine them in a bowl with the ground meat, soy sauce and the cornstarch. Mix everything well. It shoudl form a sticky consistency so you can form meatballs. It it is not sticky enough, add more cornstarch.

  2. Take one heaped tablespoon at a time from the meat mixture and form it into balls. Heat up the oil in a large pot and fry the meatballs in it for about 10 minutes. Take them out and set them aside.

  3. In the meantime cut up the ginger, lemongras, and spring onions into larger chunks. Combine the curry past with about 3 tablespoons of the coconut milk.

    In the hot pot quickly fry the ginger, lemongras, and spring onions for about 2-3 minutes. Take them out and place them in a tea bag or sieve so they can cook with the broth later. Add the curry paste mixture into the pot any fry this for about one minute before you add the broth and the tea bag. Bring everything to a boil.

    In the meantime chop all of the vegetbales you are using into bite-sized pices. Add in harder veegtables that need longer to cook, like carrot and cauliflower now and boil them for about 5 minutes.

    In the meantime prepare the pasta according to package intructions.

    After the 5 minutes, add in the other vegetables and coconut milk and take out the tea bag. Let everything simmer for another 3-4 minutes.

    When the noodles are done cooking strain them and set aside.

  4. To serve add some meatballs and pasta into a soup bowl. Next, pour the soup and vegetables over and garnish with some spring onions and fresh cilantro. Serve and enjoy!

Notes

  • you can use any vegetables you have in your fridge, they do not need to be those exact ones,