Wholewheat Falafel pita pocket is a popular Middle Eastern Dish and is like a sandwich made by stuffing falafel in the pocket of homemade warm pita bread surrounded with crunchy salad leaves, tomato, onion, cucumber, olives, carrots, and flavored by drizzling sauces such as hummus, aioli, tahini sauce and mint yogurt dip. Every bite of the dish is scrumptious and you can enjoy the flavor of the fresh crunchy vegetables and sauces. This is a popular Middle Eastern dish and is a complete wholesome meal perfect for lunch or dinner. Make ahead the pita pocket and falafel and then just assemble with the remaining ingredients whenever you are hungry.
Course brunch, dinner, festivalfood, Global, lunch, Main Course, maindish, roti or bread, savoury, vegetables
In a small mixing bowl take lukewarm water and add sugar to it. Mix well.
Add the instant dried yeast and mix well. Cover and keep aside for 10 minutes in a warm place. I kept mine in the microwave.
In the meantime, take whole wheat flour, salt and oil in a big flat mixing plate. Mix well.
Now after 10 minutes the yeast has risen well. It is bubbly.
Mix the flour mixture and make a well in the center. Pour the bubbly yeast mixture in the well.
Mix well with hand or spoon the mixture.
Start kneading into dough with the help of your hand. Add little luke warm water if the dough feels too dry.
Knead well with stretch and pull technique for 8-10 minutes.
The gluten will start developing and make the dough sticky as you keep on kneading. Add little water if needed.
Add 2 tbsp flour extra if the dough becomes more sticky and knead.
After 8-9 minutes the dough will come together.
Put oil on it and knead smoother.
The dough is smooth and had come together.
Put the dough in the bowl greased with oil and cover and put aside for minimum of one hour to rise in a warm place.
The dough has risen well and is double in size. Punch down the dough to release the air bubbles. Knead well.
Divide the dough into six equal portions.
Take one portion of dough and smoothen it with palms. Tuck the dough from the edges to inside and smoothen it. Flatten .
Dust with flour.
With the help of a rolling pin roll into a 12 cm circle or shape oval with the thickness of 4 mm.
Gently lift the rolled bread and put on a heated flat pan on medium heat. Bubbles will start to rise.
Flip the bread with spatula and let it cook for couple of minutes.
Flip again and press gently with spatula the top face of bread. It will puff up .
Flip again and cook on another side for couple of minutes so it is cooked well from inside.
Remove the bread in a plate and let it cool and cut it into half. Similarly make remaining bread.
This is how the pocket look. Cover with a cloth and keep aside.
Tahini sauce makes 1 cup
In a mixture jar take tahini paste, (I had used the store brought paste), lemon juice, garlic clove, salt .
Blend it.
Add water and blend again to get the smooth paste.
The tahini sauce is ready . Remove it in a bowl and keep aside. The tahini sauce can be refrigerated for a couple of weeks and used as needed.
Mint yogurt dip makes 1 cup
Take the hung curd or thick Greek yogurt in a bowl. Add finely chopped mint leaves, salt and roasted cumin powder.
Mix them well and the mint yogurt dip is ready. Refrigerate it till use.
Assembling pita pocket
The important part assembling the pita pocket. Gather all the ingredients needed to make pita pocket - whole wheat pita pocket, baked falafel or regular falafel, salad leaves or lettuce or any salad you love, sliced tomato, cucumber, onions, kalamata olives, grated carrot, hummus, tahini sauce, aioli or mayonnaise, mint yogurt dip.
Heat the flat pan. Lightly grill the pita pocket by applying very little oil on both sides. (do not toast them or else they will break while assembling. Just lightly warm them).
Apply a tbsp of hummus and aioli or mayonnaise on both sides of the pocket.
Put the salad leaves in it.
Break falafel and arrange them. Put the slice onion, cucumber, tomato, olives, grated carrot.
Drizzle the tahini sauce, aioli, and mint yogurt dip all over.
The whole wheat falafel pita pocket is ready. Serve it immediately with extra salad and mint yogurt dip.