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1
First you need to rinse the chickpeas and discard any bad ones.
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The night before you want to make the falafels, youll need to begin soaking the chickpeas.
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Put the sorted and rinsed chickpeas in a bowl and cover them with water by at least 2 or 3 inches.
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Put them in the refrigerator for about 24 hours.
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The next day... Get a small skillet and your cumin and coriander seeds.
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Put the skillet on medium heat and put the seeds in it to toast them.
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Just leave them over medium heat for just a few minutes until theyll toasted and fragrant.
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Pull the seeds off and grind them up using a mortar and pestle.
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You can use already ground cumin and coriander seeds, but it wont taste the same.
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Next, drain the water off of the chickpeas and rinse them completely.
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They will have grown to 2-3 times their original size.
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Put the uncooked chickpeas into your food processor and grind them.
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You just want to insure that there arent any whole chickpeas left, it will not be smooth.
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Next add the onion, garlic, ground seeds, herbs, red pepper flakes, and baking powder.
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Process these until well mixed and all of the items are well ground.
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Do not add any water or other liquids!
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Add salt and pepper to your taste.
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Transfer the mixture back into your bowl and put it into the refrigerator while you finish preparing the meal.
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(You want to allow the mixture about 15 minutes in the fridge so do not skip this step!)
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Next youll want to heat the oil.
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If you have a deep fryer, set it to around 350 degrees F. If not, use a heavy pot and heat it to medium-high heat.
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While the oil is heating I slice my tomatoes and cucumbers.
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Once the oil is heated, get your falafel mixture back out.
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You now need to roll it into balls, about the size of ping pong balls.
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Test your oil temperature and the consistency of your balls by dropping just one into the hot oil.
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If it falls apart, you might want to add a little flour or plain bread crumbs to the mixture to help them stick together.
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You want the oil hot enough that theyll crisp up on the outside, but not so hot that theyll burn.
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Once its all correct, youre ready to go!
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I also toss my pita bread into a 200F oven to warm it at this point.
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Put around six falafels into the oil at once.
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Be careful to move them so that they dont burn to the bottom of your pan.
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It takes about 4-5 minutes to cook them.
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You want them to be a nice, dark brown color on the outside.
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Theyll also be very crispy.
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When theyre ready pull them out with tongs or a slotted spoon and put them on a plate covered with paper towels.
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Repeat frying the rest of the falafels.
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Youre now ready for a fabulous dinner!!!
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Cut open your pita bread and stuff it with a few falafels, lettuce, cucumber, tomato, and feta.
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You can also drop in some tahini or tzatziki sauce.
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Eat now and enjoy!
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Dont forget to make a few extra for lunch tomorrow.
