Falafel

I love falafel but it's nice to be able to bake it so I can make a slightly less oily version. The baking soda is optional, but it's the secret Israeli ingredient that will keep your falafel from drying out too much on the inside. The flour is also optional - the more you blend the rest of the mixture, the less flour you'll need. I put my falafel over tabbouleh. You can also put it in a pita pocket with veggies and hummus or yogurt, drizzle it with tahini sauce (just tahini and enough water to thin it out), eat it in a burger, put it on top of salad, etc.

Ingredients:
about 1 cup of chickpeas, soaked overnight but not cooked
1 onion
4-5 cloves garlic
cumin
chili flakes
parsley
cumin
cilantro, optional
1 tsp baking soda, optional but you should use it!
flour, optional
oil

Directions:
1) Blend everything except the flour and oil together in a blender. I didn't give amounts for the spices. I used about a teaspoon of each but how much you use will depend on your personal preferences.
2) Form your falafel mixture into balls about the size of golf balls. Here's where the flour comes in - depending on the thickness of your blended mix, you may need to add some flour to get it to the right consistency to form balls.
3) Here's where you make another choice. You can either put a bunch of oil in a pan and fry the falafel until they're golden, or you can preheat an oven to 375 degrees F, brush the falafel with oil, and bake them until they're golden.