RINSE & SOAK. Rinse the chickpeas under cold running water and discard cracked or broken chickpeas. Pour the chickpeas into a large bowl and cover with water. Use at least 2 inches of water above the chickpeas, as they will expand to 4-5 cups. Add a couple tablespoons of an acid, like lemon juice or apple cider vinegar, then soak for 8-12 hours or overnight. Drain, rinse, and set aside. NOTE: Do not pre-cook chickpeas. This will result in a mushy falafel.

PROCESS. Add onion and garlic into food processor and pulse until they break up. Add parsley and cilantro and blend for about 30-40 seconds and scrape down sides. Add additional seasonings, chickpeas, chickpea flour, and baking soda and blend until it becomes somewhere between a crumbly texture and a paste. Test to see if a ball will form easily. If it does not stay in a ball, your mixture may be too wet. Add some more chickpea flour and blend and test again. Once blended, move ingredients to a bowl and mix with a fork to make sure all chickpeas are blended and adjust seasonings, if needed. 

REFRIGERATE. Place bowl in refrigerator for a minimum of an hour.

COOK. Fill a skillet with about 1 ½ inches of cooking oil. Choose a cooking oil with a high-smoke point, like grape-seed oil. Heat the oil slowly over medium heat. Meanwhile, form the falafel mixture into round balls to desired size. I generally make them a little larger than a ping-pong ball.

TEST. Do a test with first falafel to make sure your oil is hot enough. It should take 1-2 minutes for each side. When the falafel ball is golden brown remove with a slotted spoon and place on a plate covered with a paper towel to absorb extra oil. I cook about 6-8 balls at a time, depending on the skillet I am using. 

SERVE. I like to serve them hot in a pita with hummus, pickled red cabbage, onion, and pickle. More traditional options would include cucumber, tomato, onion, tahini, shredded cabbage, extra parsley. It's really up to you. 

ENJOY!