Boiled potato = 1
Whole Oatmeal flour = 1 cup
Millet or Bajri flour = 1 cup
Whole wheat flour = 1.5 cups
Oil = 1.5 Tbsp total
Salt to taste
Cinnamon powder = 2 tsp.
Cilantro finely chopped 3 Tbsp. (optional)
Water to make Dough (appx 1 cup and better if warm)
HOW TO:
Mix all the flours in a large mixing bowl
Mash the boiled potato with your fingers and mix well with the flour
Add 1Tbsp Oil
Add rest of the ingredients
Slowly add bit of water (1/6th cup) and work it all around the mixture. Once that water is absorbed, add more water and in 3-4 parts, work with the water and flour mixture to make a semi-soft dough.
Your dough is ready to be rolled into thin or thick tortillas / rotis / rotlis / chappatis
Although Falafel is a Mid-East recipe, every Indian knows how to incorporate his /her own taste and definition to a recipe from around the world. In case if you haven’t already heard, Indians are good ‘Creative Copy-Cats (CCC)’, the way I put it! lol
So here is my CCC Falafel half inspired by me watching my talented aunt cook Falafel a few years ago and half inspired by my crazy mind. This purely Vegetarian dish can also be made VEGAN by keeping out the Optional Ingredients and can be awed for its nutritional fillers- high proteins, calcium, iron, with moderate carbs and fats.
We need:
Butter as per needed on the bread slice when preparing final serving
½ Onion – white or red (in India onions are way smaller in size, may require to use 2 onions, refer to my picture below to know the quantity)
2 inch stick of cinnamon
2 cloves
1 tsp black pepper – crushed or powder
Sesame seeds – ½ cup
* Optional ingredient: Yogurt – ½ cup
Salt as per needed for each time of use
1 cup chick peas or garbanzo beans soaked for 6hours.
1 big palm sized potato or equivalent number of small size
* Optional: Paneer – cottage cheese, crushed to make half to one cup. Make at home by boiling and tearing boiling milk with vinegar or lemon. You can find tons of recipes for how to make paneer at home or get Ready paneer from store. In Usa, you will find Paneer in the frozen section of Indian stores
* Optional: Cheese – 1/4th cup
Tabasco: 4drops
Sriracha Sauce: 1/4th to ½ tsp (as spicy as you want
HOW TO COOK IT
Roast white sesame seeds in a non-stick pan on med to low heat until they turn light brown. Stir every minute, making sure you are tossing those seeds around pretty well. They do love carousel rides!
Once light brown remove from stove and allow to cool in a cool area of home, preferably out of the kitchen and under the fan (make sure your fan is clean ;))
Meanwhile, we will prepare the base of our stuffing. chop fine. Red onion is ok too.
Pressure cooker or any untensil to boil the garbanzo beans.
In med. to big sized Pressure Cooker (or Rice cooker), 1 Tbsp of oil; when hot, add 2 inch stick of cinnamon, 2 cloves, 1 tsp crushed black pepper or black pepper powder.
add onions, roast on med to high flame till translucent in color.
Add garbanzo / chick peas and fill water to 2-3 inches above chick peas.
To make the chick peas softer, add salt to
Boil in cooker with 6 whistles. (Adjust whistle no. as per your cooker)
Kept to boil in pressure cooker
10. Meanwhile we will make our own version of ‘ Tahini Dip’. Crush the cooled sesame seeds in a dry grinder 1st
11. Once crushed, add 1 Tbsp cooking oil to the dry, ground sesame powder. Churn it once if needed. Add 3 Filled Tbsp of Yogurt (*optional, this is my own addition) and store this dip in a tightly covered container to preserve the flavor.
12. When the pressure cooker cools, separate the potato from the chick peas
13. Peel potato skin. Mash the boiled, peeled potato and add paneer – cottage cheese. Top with salt and 1tsp of red chilli powder (add more or less as per requirement)
14. Add quarter cup cheese
15. Mash the chickpeas, potato, paneer all in one
16. Add salt, tabasco 4 drops, 1/4 to 1/2 tsp Sriracha sauce (as spicy as needed)
17. All the parts are ready. Unlike Traditional Falafel, I do not make them into balls. I leave it like a paste.
Chick pea paste with Tahini Dip on the right
18. Take your Bread slices, add butter, layer with tahini dip, chick peas paste, bite into this delightful dish!
Last week, when I created my Astrology Study Group on facebook, 27 people wrote to me, asking me to look at their or their kids’ or husbands’ charts. I have been that person who has always been attracted to Astrology even though my family never depicted that. In terms of Astrology, my passion is to help people understand the TRUE MEANING AND PURPOSE OF ASTROLOGY. We are highly MISGUIDED in our knowledge and use of Astrology. There is so much I can say about this. Truly! and some of it, I have explained in my video at the end of this article. Do hear the video, there is lots of great information on Astrology in it. Below are some MISCONCEPTIONS we have on Astrology.
When predictions fail, we doubt astrology
If you have a bad experience with a doctor, do you stop believing in the field of medicine or do you simply change your doctor?Astrology is a very accurate and ancient science. It is also a highly complicated subject to understand. It is said that one can never learn astrology in one birth, there are so many complex calculations to be done that only 1% of the world’s population could ‘Master’ this skill. In fact, Astrology is more the work of a Spiritual Soul than that of someone who has learnt it. Hence, when predictions fail, when astrologers tell you things that do not come true, it does not mean that Astrology is wrong. It only means that the Astrologer is not well-equipped.
Astrology is all about Predictions
False! Predictions are possible in Astrology, but Astrology is so much more about diagnosing the problem areas of one’s life, analyzing the client’s strengths and empowering clients to focus their energies on their strengths. Unfortunately, today’s astrologers have made this subject very ‘fancy’ and ‘commercial’ by projecting it as a Science of Prediction. Hear my video to understand this better.
Astrology can help change your future
There are no real remedies to change our luck. As described in astrology, luck is nothing but accumulated karma – both good and bad and there are only 2 ways around it: face it with pain or face it in a spiritual manner. Gem stones are one of the biggest myths. Astrologers direct clients to gemstones mostly for commercial reasons OR due to the lack of true knowledge. Take a logical approach to this – if gemstones could truly dissolve your problems or make them easier, then all of the world’s problems could easily be solved or reduced. The truth is that there is a big psychological ‘trick’ here. We start BELIEVING that gemstones will help which increases our mental strength and start to attract better things. Gemstones, havans, pujas, etc., are not mentioned in ancient astrology as ‘problem-solvers’. To improve our luck, we must face our probems and by live a ‘satvik’ life: serve the needy, be kind by thought and deed, stop eating animals, work on our anger, greed and pride, meditate, use techniques like reiki and life-coaching to emotionally heal yourselves and so on.
Forecasts are true
There is no such thing as the forecasts you read in newspapers. It was created by someone and sustained by other astrologers to ‘hook’ us to their readings and services. Again, apply some logic here: there are BILLIONS of people on this earth, how can 12 zodiac signs and forecasts based on them apply to billions of people?! Trust that original astrology has no place for or description of daily / monthly forecasts like the way it has been projected to us for so many years. For once, read the forecast of another sun sign and find it to be true for yourself! Again, there is a psychological element here: we want to hear something ‘good’ or ‘fear based predictions’ attract us and no matter what is said, our mind finds a way to apply it to our life.
Sun Signs describe your personality
No two people are alike on this planet and hence, no two horoscopes! 12 sun signs cannot describe the personality of billions of people. Astrology analyzes our personality from so many factors: The rising sign in our horoscope, our moon and sun sign, the constellations and so on. It is a long list! Describing personality based on sun signs is just a ‘fancy’ thing.
Mangal Dosh(a) or Manglik is the worst thing to have in a chart
In reality, Mangal Dosh means only this: This person is highly ambitious and has an insatiable drive to contribute to the world. Hence, this person focuses less on family life, has more problems in personal family life but is going to be an achiever, a very successful person in society. This also shows a strong athletic drive, angry or impulsive nature in earlier years of life especially before 35 years. It is good for a Manglik to marry a Manglik for they can understand each other’s passionate nature easily but it is a myth that when a non-Manglik marries a Manglik, it threatens their life. A person with Saturn placed in or influencing the 7th house may also marry a manglik as Saturn is opposite of Mars and so helps to tone down the impulsive, angry nature of mars.Mangal dosh is considered when Mars in placed in certain houses like 2nd, 4th, 7th, 8th, 12th and is a ‘hot’ concept in India. Many people reject marriage proposals to those who have manglik dosh. Many astrologers believe this too.
Saturn is the worst planet and Sade Sati the worst time period
Contrary, Saturn is the best for polishing out our loose ends into a wise, successful person. Yes, it teaches lessons harshly but it always IMPROVES us in some way. Sade Sati does bring hardships and the extent of hardships depends on Saturn’s position in one’s chart and on the overall horoscope of a person. That period of life can make someone go from rags to riches or riches to rags. The toughest time of Sade Sati is the 2.5 years when Saturn sustains itself on the moon. Don’t fear Saturn, be happy that it strikes to teach and polish us.
Astrology works only if you believe in it
False! The planets or combinations in our chart continue to influence our life even if we reject the notion of astrology. However, this influence lasts only as long as our focus is a lot on the material side of life. The moment we start meditating and what I call ‘spiritualizing’ regularly, we start breaking the bonds of our karma. Remember religion is following a certain faith while spirituality is working towards self-realization and reaching the purest state of the soul.
We are doomed to the life written in our chart
Nope! Astrology clearly states that we write our destiny by our thoughts, beliefs and actions and since we create it, we have full control to ‘change’ it as well.
Kaal Sarp Yog is true
In astrology, yog means ‘combination’. There is no such thing as kaal sarp yog. If an astrologer says that you have this yog, change the astrologer.
Gun Milan is great to test compatibility.
In Indian astrology, 2 charts are matched to test on 36 points. It is assumedthat the more the points meet, the better the compatibility. This is a great myth! Gun milan can tell you very little of how well you will settle with your partner in the marriage. There are other very important methods to test compatibility.
All Astrology is the same. Astrology is just one large subject with no branches
False! Linda Goodman is a classic example of Western Astrology which is very different from Indian, Vedic Astrology. China and Korea have their own astrology as well. It seems that each culture has some form of astrology which validates the truth in it but astrology notes in India date back to as early as 9th Century B.C. or even before!
Kundlis or Horoscopes can tell only certain broad things about us
False. Except for when you wake up, gargle and drink tea, your chart can sketch every minute crease on your skin. This means that your chart can tell your likes, dislikes, relationship with siblings, hidden desires, secrets, about your parents, friend circle, no. of spouses, nature of the spouses, directions you are likely to live in, passions and careers, school studies and so on.. Hence, be wary of sharing your birth chart the way in which you share news about your shopping.
A good astrologer will tell me about my life-span and warn me about accidents / all negative events in my life
False! A good, genuine, knowledgeable astrologer will NEVER mention these life-events to any client. Astrology has not given the RIGHTS to an astrologer to tell a person when they will die or something horrible will happen. Never!
It is hurtful to read posts of people who said the astrologer told them that they will no good or that they will meet a horrible accident in a few years, etc. Well, astrology was made to EMPOWER people, to give them true direction and hope and to believe that there is GOOD in every person and in everyone’s life. Ethically, astrologers are supposed to focus only on the GOOD and even if some negative news were to be shared it for the good of the client, it must be put in a way that the person feels POSITIVE and HOPEFUL.
Please share this information with others. Hear my videos. My website www.rimadesai.org
Rima Desai's: Scuba Diving into the Mind's Pool 