Falafel with Tzatziki in Homemade Greek Pita Flatbreads

Don’t you just love bringing in the food  and flavours of other countries into your kitchen? I do, and right now I am loving the flavours of beautiful Greece. Falafel with Tzatziki in Homemade Greek Pita flatbread is like an explosion of taste, color and texture in one meal.

Let me let you into something crazy about this post …. This was actually going to just be a post for a falafel recipe, so after I prepared and cooked the falafel, I thought, wouldn’t this go great with a delicious dip or sauce? So I whipped up this amazingly delicious  and quick to prepare Tzatziki  sauce. And then I looked at the falafel and tzatziki and said…. these need to be wrapped in something… and that something turned out to be Greek Pita flatbread, gosh was I relieved that I had all the ingredients in my kitchen.  So here you have it  Falafel with Tzatziki in Homemade Greek Pita Flatbreads ….3 amazing  recipes in one.

Falafels are made from ground canned or soaked chickpeas. Spices and herbs are added to enhance the taste of the falafel. This is just a basic falafel recipe so feel free to add spices and herbs to your taste. Just note that if you are using canned chickpeas, ensure that you drain the water from the can AND dry the chickpeas on paper towels. You don’t want too much of moisture otherwise the falafels will just fall apart.

Tzatziki is an earthy fresh tasting  cucumber dip or sauce which is used in wraps, for vegetables or meat. It is incredibly delicious, quick and easy to prepare. In this recipe, I just blended plain yoghurt, cucumber, dill, garlic, lemon juice and black pepper together. Dont overblend it otherwise it will be too runny, you want if to be thick.

The Greek Pita Flatbreads are amazingly delicious breads which are soft and puffy.  They are sometimes referred to as pocketless pita. These Greek Pita Flatbreads are not baked like the one in my  STIR FRIED VEGETABLES IN HOMEMADE PITA BREAD , but cooked on the stove top on a lightly greased pan. Here, I used bread flour, but you could use all-purpose flour, though it won’t have that bread like texture.  In my recipe I also used instant yeast, but you can use active dry yeast as well, I will give you the instructions on how to use either one.

So here goes, I hope you love and enjoy  this wonderful combination of flavour as much as I do. It is a really, really a spectacular taste experience. Enjoy ♥

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Falafel with Tzatziki in Homemade Greek Pita Flatbreads

Servings: 8

Author: Ashika | Gardening Foodie

Ingredients

• HOMEMADE GREEK PITA FLATBREADS
• 2 teaspoons active dry yeast OR instant yeast
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 160 ml warm milk
• 80 ml warm water
• 320 g bread / strong flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon oil
• FOR THE FALAFELS
• 1 425 g can chickpeas, rinsed, drained and patted dry
• 15 g chopped fresh parsley
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• ¼ onion finely chopped
• 2 Tbsp sesame seeds - optional
• 1 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp salt and
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 3 Tbsp all purpose flour
• 3-4 Tbsp oil for cooking
• FOR THE TZATZIKI
• ½ cucumber
• 1 cup / 250ml plain or Greek yogurt
• 2 cloves garlic crushed
• ⅓ cup chopped dill
• 1½ Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
• ½ tsp salt or to taste
• ⅛ tsp black pepper

Instructions

1. HOMEMADE GREEK PITA FLATBREADS
2. IF YOU ARE USING ACTIVE DRY YEAST then combine the sugar, yeast, water and milk in a bowl. Set the bowl aside for 5 minutes, until the mixture starts to froth.
3. In another bowl, combine the flour, the salt mix to combine.
4. Add the oil to the yeast mixture and stir to combine.
5. Add the yeast mixture to the flour mixture
6. Transfer mixture to a lightly floured working surface. Knead for 4-5 minutes until the dough becomes smooth.
7. IF YOU ARE USING INSTANT YEAST then combine flour, sugar and salt together, add the yeast
8. and mix together. Add the oil. Combine the warm milk and water together and mix it into the dough.Transfer mixture to a lightly floured working surface. Knead for 4-5 minutes until the dough becomes smooth.
9. Brush a bowl with some oil and add the dough.
10. Cover with a towel and let it rise for about 40 minutes, until it rises and doubles in size.
11. Place a pan over medium heat.
12. Deflate the dough by kneading it for a minute. Break out about 8 pieces of dough
13. Place pieces of dough on a lightly floured board. Use a rolling pin to roll out each piece of dough to a circle 20 cm in diameter.
14. Cook the pita bread for 1-2 minutes on each side in the pan, until they puff up slightly. Keep the cooked breads covered with a cloth to ensure that it remains soft.
15. FOR THE FALAFELS
16. Add chickpeas, parsley, onions,garlic, sesame seeds, cumin, salt, pepper to a blender and pulse to combine, scraping down sides as needed until thoroughly combined.The mix should be crumbly and not pasty
17. Add flour 1 Tbsp at a time and mix to combine until no longer wet and you can mold the dough into a ball without it sticking to your hands
18. At this stage, you can taste and adjust any seasonings as you like.
19. Shape into 12 small disks
20. Heat a pan over medium heat and add 2 Tablesppons of oil to coat the pan.
21. Once the oil is hot,place falafels in the pan
22. Cook for a total of 4 minutes, until both sides are golden brown.. They will firm up more once cooled.
23. FOR THE TZATZIKI
24. Combine all the ingredients in a blender and blend for about half a minute. Avoid blending for too long otherwise the mixture becomes too runny.