Falafel, hummus and bulgar salad

Ingredients

For the Falafel:

• 1 can chick peas (garbanzo beans)
• 1 onion, rough diced
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 teaspoons whole coriander seeds
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons gram flour (garbanzo bean flour) or 2 tablespoons wheat flour
• pepper
• small handful parsley leaves
• small handful coriander leaves
• 250 ml sunflower oil for frying

For the Hummus:

• 1 can chick peas
• 2 cloves garlic
• 4 tablespoons tahini
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 200 ml cold water (approx)

For the Bulgar wheat salad:

• 300 ml (by volume) bulgar wheat kernels (or cous cous works just as well!)
• 8 cm cucumber, diced small
• 2 ripe tomatoes de-seeded and diced small
• 1 clove, garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• small handful mint leaves, chopped
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• juice 1/2 lemon

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Preparation

• First, start the bulgar wheat by measuring it into a bowl and sprinkling the salt, paprika and ground coriander over. Measure an equal volume (300ml in this case) of boiling water and pour over the grains, stirring gently. Cover for five minutes, then fluff with a fork, uncover and pop in the fridge while you get everything else ready.
• Make the hummus:
  - In the bowl of a large food processor, add all the ingredients except for the water and pulse on high, scraping the sides down until you have a coarse paste. scrape the sides of the owl down again and pulse, drizzling in the cold water a little at a time until you have a thick but soft paste. You will probably have to scrape and pulse, scrape and pulse a couple of times to make it consistent. Taste test for lemon and salt, adjust if necessary. Scrape into a bowl and refrigerate until you're ready to serve.
• For the falafel:
  Put all the ingredients except the gram (or wheat) flour into the bowl of your food processor and pulse (scrape, pulse, scrape...) until you have a thick, consistent paste. Stir the flour through to thicken and let sit for a minute before shaping into balls, using an ice cream scoop or dessert spoon to measure, then flatten slightly.
• In a large frying pan, heat the oil over a med-high heat until a pinch of the falafel mixture sizzles when you drop it in. Carefully place the small patties in the oil and cook for 4-5 minutes on each side.
  
• If you're using a smaller frying pan, do this in two batches and keep them warm in an oven while you fry the second lot. Stir the herbs, fresh veg, lemon juice and olive oil into the cooled bulgar wheat right before serving.
• Serve big scoops of the hummus, bulgar salad and three falafel each with some pita bread and shredded lettuce. An extra wedge of lemon on the side wouldn't go amiss either.

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