Falafel with cucumber-garlic sauce

Sauce:

170 gram plain yogurt (I used my home made yogurt)
1/2 cucumber - peeled, seeded, and finely chopped
3 heads of garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon dried dill weed
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon mayonnaise(optional)

Falafel:

215 gram chickpeas (garbanzo beans), cooked and drained **
1 onion, chopped
1/2 cup fresh parsley
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 egg
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon salt
1 dash pepper
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup dry bread crumbs

oil for frying

pita breads, cut in half ***
chopped tomatoes, cucumber and lettuce

**         I soaked the beans for the night before I cooked them. I used 100 grams dried      beans

***        I made 15 falafels, that’s enough for 4 – 5 pitas depending how many you put in  the pitas.

This is what I did:

In a small bowl combine yogurt, cucumber, garlic, dill, salt, pepper and mayonnaise and mix well. Chill for at least 30 minutes.

In a large bowl mash chickpeas until thick and pasty; don't use a blender, as the consistency will be too thin. In a blender, process onion, parsley and garlic until smooth. Stir into mashed chickpeas.

In a small bowl combine egg, cumin, coriander, salt, pepper, cayenne, lemon juice and baking powder. Stir into chickpea mixture along with olive oil. Slowly add bread crumbs until mixture is not sticky but will hold together; add more or less bread crumbs, as needed. Shape into balls and then flatten into patties.

Heat 1 inch of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Fry patties in hot oil until brown on both sides. Serve 2 – 4 falafels in each pita half on top of tomatoes, cucumber and lettuce and top with cucumber-garlic sauce.

Found at: AllRecipes.com