Vegan day 100: Chick-pea balls

A friend of mine has made these VEGI-BALLS a few times now– each occasion with me going.. are you sure this is vegan?? No eggs.. no cheese.. no meat.. right? Each time they come out slightly different yet oh so good!


Chick-pea balls
Large can of chick peas
Bell pepper
Celery
Garlic
Onion
Cilantro
Spices- cumin, turmeric, oregano,sea salt, black pepper
Whole wheat bread crumbs
Optional: almonds and oats


For the raw tomato sauce:
Tomatoes
Garlic
Onion
Cilantro
Olive oil

It’s a good thing I bought a food processor finally! 
Start with the chick peas in the food processor for a minute pulsing- there should still be some texture- not a paste. Move the chick peas from the processor to a mixing bowl. Next put one bell pepper, 2-3  small stalks of celery, a couple cloves of garlic, one onion and cilantro into the food processor again. Process until they are in tiny pieces. Transfer this too to the mixing bowl. Add spices and some bread crumbs. We didn’t have bread crumbs so we used some almonds and oats (in the food processor as well). Mix the contents of the bowl well and shape into small balls for baking. (Approx 15 to 30 minutes). My chef-like friend was almost laughing at me as I followed the recipe to the tee. She said you can change things up here and there- so I added some tamari for my own special add on. I don’t think I could tell in the end but they were really yummy! 


The raw tomato sauce consisted of putting the tomatoes, garlic, onion and cilantro into the food processor and blending it to a sauce consistency. I guess you can say that I got my food processor just in time- used it 3x for this recipe! What was I even thinking prior to this.


Chick peas are a good source of protein, fiber, folate and minerals including iron; and also a healthy food towards stabilizing blood sugar levels. 


Disclaimer: The information given here is for educational purposes only. You should not use this to diagnose or treat a health problem or disease without consulting with a qualified health care provider.
[Monday April 9th 2012 blog]