Mediterranean Mezze Platter

Mediterranean is one of our favorite cuisines. Its light and fresh and oh so tasty. The creamy hummus, the crispy falafels and the flavourful and colourful veggies! It makes for a wonderful brunch or even a dinner with friends. I had made this mezze platter for a poker party. We were stuffed and happy! I made pita chips but you can serve pita halves for stuffing the goodies also.

Mezze Platter clockwise: 

Roasted / Fried Cauliflower

Fresh cut tomoatoes and cucumbers

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

Pomegranate seeds

Tabboulleh

Batata Hara

Falafel

Beetroot Hummus

Tzaziki 

Pita

Roasted / Fried Cauliflower:

1 whole head of cauliflower
Salt and Pepper
Oil for frying or 1 tablespoon Olive oil for roasting

Cut the cauliflower into florets and wash thoroughly. Now dry the cauliflower on a tea towel completely. Fry in hot oil on medium heat. Make these closer to serving time as they taste best warm. If you are planning to roast them, heat and oven to 240 deg C. Coat the cauliflower with the olive oil, salt and pepper, and roast till it is golden brown on top, about 20-25 minutes.

 

Fresh cut tomatoes, cucumbers and Pomegranate seeds:

These add a freshness to the dish and a nice crunch in every bite. Make this the last item you prep in the platter.

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus and Beetroot Hummus:

2 cups raw chickpeas
5-6 cloves garlic
4 tablespoons roasted sesame seeds (Instead you can use 2 tablespoons of tahini also)
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons chili flakes
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1/2 boiled beetroot
1 roasted red bell pepper
Salt and Pepper
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Soak the chickpeas overnight and pressure cook them till soft. In a blender, grind the sesame seeds with oil till it is a paste. Next add the garlic, cumin seeds and chili flakes. Put half the mixture aside. In the remaining sesame garlic mix, add half the chickpeas, the roasted bell pepper, salt, pepper and a tablespoon of lemon juice. Blend till its a fine and smooth paste. Add water or olive oil to adjust the consistency while blending.
Blend the remaining sesame garlic mix with the boiled beetroot, salt and pepper and the remaining lemon juice. Add water or olive oil to adjust the consistency while blending. Blend till its a fine and smooth paste.
These hummus can be stored for a week in an airtight container in a refrigerator.  

Tabbouleh:

I used this recipe for the tabbouleh. I didn't use olive oil for dressing, just lemon juice, salt and pepper. I also reduced the quantity of Bulgar to half.

Batata Harra:

4 medium potatoes
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon mild chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon oil for seasoning
Oil for frying
Salt

Peel and chop the potatoes into uniform cubes. Deep fry them till golden and crispy, season with salt and keep aside. In the tablespoon of oil, add the garlic and heat gently. Take it off the heat and add cumin, coriander, black pepper, and chili powder. Mix the seasoning oil with the fried potatoes and mix well. Finish with lemon juice and coriander. Serve hot or warm.

Falafel:

I used this falafel recipe from my blog. I have been making falafels with this recipe for the past 10 years so its tried and tested many times!

Tzatziki: 

2 medium cucumbers
2 cups greek yogurt
5-6 cloves garlic finely grated
Salt and Pepper
1 teaspoon olive oil

Peel and grate the cucumbers. Sprinkle salt on the cucumbers and drain them in a strainer placed over a bowl. Befpre using, squeeze them down with a spoon to make sure all the juices are out of the cucumber. Whisk the yogurt, add the grated garlic, black pepper and drained cucumbers. Mix well and adjust for salt. Add oilve oil and serve.
 

Pita: 

I used store bought Pita bread, cut it into wedges and baked them in an airfryer at 180 degress for 4-5 minutes.