Chickpea balls

Ingredients

• Approx. 2 cups dried chickpeas
• 1 small onion, coarsely chopped
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley.
• 3-5 cloves of garlic
• 1 1/2 tbsp. flour
• 1 + 3/4 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. ground coriander
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
• Pinch of cardamom
• "Lof" Extra Virgin Olive Oil for frying

Execution

• Add the chickpeas in a large bowl and cover them with approx. 3 inches of cold water with a spoonful of soda.
• Leave them all night to soak. They should double in size, as they will absorb the water. You should have 4 or 5 cups of chickpeas.
• Strain and rinse the chickpeas well.
• Put them in the mixer with the finely chopped onion, the cloves of garlic, the parsley, the flour, salt, cumin, coriander, black pepper, cayenne pepper and  cardamom.
• Beat all the ingredients together until you have a rough, coarse mixture.
• Scrape the sides of the mixer periodically and push the mixture down from the sides.
• When the mixture is ready, its texture should be similar to couscous or paste.
• When the mixture reaches the desired texture, put it in a bowl and use a fork to stir.
• Remove any large chunks of chickpeas from the mixer.
• Cover the bowl with cling film and put it in the fridge for 1-2 hours.
• Fill a pan with "Lof" Extra Virgin Olive Oil to a depth of 1 ½ inches.
• Slowly heat the "Lof" Extra Virgin Olive Oil over medium heat.
• Meanwhile, shape the falafel mixture in round balls or in the shape of burgers with wet hands or using a falafel scoop.
• Normally, you can use approx. 2 tbsp. of the mixture per falafel.
• You can make the falafel larger or smaller, depending on your personal preferences.
• The balls with stick together at first, but they will unstick while frying.