• Start by rinsing the chickpeas and then placing them into a large bowl with plenty of water to soak overnight, and up to 24 hours.
  1 ¼ cups dried chickpeas
• Drain and rinse the chickpeas.
• Place the soaked and drained chickpeas, chopped red onion, crushed garlic, chili, parsley, cilantro, ground cumin, ground coriander, and salt into the bowl of a food processor.
  ½ small red onion, 2 cloves garlic, 1 red chili, ¼ cup packed parsley, ¼ cup packed cilantro, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, ½ teaspoon ground coriander, ½ teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
• Pulse a few times, and then run the food processor until the ingredients are finely chopped. It should still have a bit of texture to it, roughly the size of couscous grains. You may need to stop and scrape the sides of the food processor a couple of times.
• Transfer the falafel mixture into a bowl, and refrigerate for about an hour.
• When you are ready to make your falafel, add the baking powder to the bowl and mix to combine well.
  ½ teaspoon baking powder
• Scoop heaping tablespoons of the falafel mixture, and use your hands to form into balls. I err on the side of slightly smaller falafels to ensure they stay together well, but they're maybe 2 tablespoons each.

Air Fryer Instructions

• Heat your Air Fryer to 200°C / 400°F.
• Brush or spray the air fryer basket with a bit of oil, and then place the falafels in a single layer, with a bit of space between them. I had to cook mine in two batches. Brush or spray the tops of the falafel balls with olive oil (I use a silicone pastry brush).
• Place the falafels into the air fryer, and set a timer for 10 minutes.
• After 10 minutes, carefully turn the falafels over, and brush with olive oil again.
• Return to the air fryer for another 5 minutes.

Oven baking instructions

• Pre-heat your oven to 200°C / 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and spray the parchment with olive oil.
• Arrange the falafel balls in a single layer on the parchment and spray or brush with olive oil.
• Bake the falafels for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven, carefully turn over, and spray with a bit more oil.
• Return to the oven for an additional 10 minutes, until falafels are brown and crispy.

To serve

• Serve with pita and vegetables, or on top of a salad.