Saturday October 18th, 2008

Günay Resteraunt, Galata Tower Square, Istanbul, Turkey

19:00 (21:00 GMT)

We will be connected to Karl Heinz Jeron in Berlin, Germany,

who will instruct us how to make his special version of Falafel.

Dumplings:
1 cup lentils, cooked (cooking time depends on which lentils you use)
1 table spoon flour (maybe more. Make one dumpling, fry it. If it falls apart, use more flour)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup finely minced onion
2 tablespoon finely minced parsley or rocket salad (I used rocket salad, but if you cant get it take parsley)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
2 cloves garlic
Freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon lemon juice
a pinch (or more) of cayenne pepper
oil for frying (i.e. canola, sunflower, avocado),
no olive oil, it cant stand high temratures!!!

Chutney:
1 cup plain yoghurt
1 tablespoon minced mint
1 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon lemon juice
salt

Drain the lentils and put them into the container of a good processor or blender.  Add the baking soda and salt.  Turn the machine on and blend until you have the texture of coarse bread crumbs or fine bulgur wheat.  You should NOT have a paste.

Empty the lentils into a bowl.  Add the onion, parsley, cumin, coriander, garlic, black pepper, lemon juice, and cayenne. Mix gently with a fork. Do not pat down. This mixture should be loose and crumbly.

Put 2 inches of oil in a wok or other utensil for deep frying and set to a heat on a medium-low flame. You need a temperature of 350 to 375 degrees F.  While the oil heats, form the first batch of patties. Using a very light touch, form patties that are about 2 1/4 inches in diameter, about 3/4 inch thick in the center and less so at the edges.  Do not pat down or try to be too neat.  The patties should just about hold together.  Put as many patties into the hot oil as the utensil will hold in a single layer.  Fry about 4 minutes or until the patties a reddish brown on both sides.  Turn at least once during the frying process.  When the patties are done, remove them with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel. do all of the patties this way.

The project began by making a connection with Karl, who sent us a list of ingredients to collect for the meal.

We then start our research.

– Where can we find these ingredients in Galata?

– How does the culinary traditions of another region affect the tastes of Turkish ingredients?

As we source the ingredients, we gather information, meet people, explore new parts of our surroundings. On the night of the dinner, as part of the Visibility Project – 4 in Galata, we are connected live to our ‘virtual’ chef with sound and video. He takes us step by step through the cooking of the meal, sharing memories or other stories associated with the food being cooked.When the food is finished, we eat together.