Pour the chickpeas into a large bowl and cover them by about 3 inches of cold water. Let them soak overnight. They will double in size as they soak.
Drain and rinse the chickpeas well. Pour them into your food processor along with the chopped onion, garlic cloves, parsley, flour or chickpea flour ,salt, cumin, ground coriander, black pepper , and cardamom.
Grind all ingredients together until a rough.We want a texture of the mixture which can hold itself while frying, not a paste like hummus.
Once the mixture reaches the desired consistency, empty it in a bowl . Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
Take a frying pan, add oil and keep to heat it..
Meanwhile, form falafel mixture into round balls or flat as I have made them. or slider-shaped patties using wet hands or a falafel scoop. I usually use about 2 tbsp of mixture per falafel.
Before frying my first batch of falafel, I like to fry a test one in the center of the pan. If the oil is at the right temperature.
When the oil is at the right temperature, fry the falafels in batches of 5-6 at a time till golden brown on both sides.
Once the falafels are fried, remove them from the oil . Let them drain on paper towels. Serve the falafels fresh and hot; they go best with a plate of Hummus. You can also stuff them into a pita.