Chickpea fritters (Pitaroudia) with tahini sauce

Enjoy this wonderful Greek vegan and vegetarian recipe any time of the day. 

Ingredients

• 225 g (8 oz) dried chickpeas, picked over and rinsed
• 1 cup finely chopped onions
• 1 medium firm, ripe tomato, grated
• ¼ cup finely chopped fresh mint
• 1 heaped tsp ground cumin (optional)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1½-2¼ tbsp plain (all-purpose flour) 
• ¾-1 cup plain (all-purpose) flour for dredging the patties
• Olive or other vegetable oil for frying, as needed

For the tahini sauce

• ⅔ cup tahini
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp + 1 tsp  (45 ml) extra-virgin Greek olive oil
• 1-2 tbsp water, and/or more, as needed
• 1½-2¼ tbsp strained fresh lemon juice, and/or more, as needed
• Dash of hot sauce or Aleppo pepper
• Pinch of ground cumin
• Salt

Soaking time: 8 hours or overnight.

Instructions

Soak the chickpeas for 8 hours or overnight in ample water to soften them. Drain, place in a pot with ample fresh water, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer the chickpeas until soft, about 1½ hours. Remove from the heat, drain and rinse.

Place the chickpeas in a food processor fitted with the metal blade and pulse on and off until they are coarse and mealy.

Combine the ground chickpeas with the onions, tomato, mint and cumin, and season with salt and pepper. Add enough flour to make a dense mass that can be shaped into individual patties.

Spread the remaining flour on a large plate. Take about 1½-2 tablespoons at a time of the chickpea mixture and shape into large, flat patties. Heat about 3 mm (¼ inch) of olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is very hot, dredge the patties lightly in flour, tapping off any excess, and fry a batch until golden, flipping once to cook both sides, 2 to 4 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and let drain on paper towels. Continue until all the chickpea patties are fried, replenishing the olive oil if necessary. 

Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature, wiht tahini sauce. 

To make the tahini sauce: Place the tahini, garlic, olive oil, and 1½ tablespoons each of water and lemon juice in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until smooth and thick. Add the garlic and olive oil and pulse to puree and combine. Add additional water and lemon juice in a few teaspoons at a time, pulsing after each addition, until the mixture is creamy, smooth, and spreadable. Season with the hot sauce, cumin and salt to taste and serve.

Enjoy this wonderful Greek vegan and vegetarian recipe any time of the day.