Falafel

Cover the dried chickpeas with cold water by at least three inches — they triple in size — and soak 18 to 24 hours, changing the water once if your kitchen is warm. This is the one non-negotiable rule of falafel: the chickpeas are NEVER cooked. They rehydrate to just-tender raw, and that raw starch is what binds the fritter without flour or egg. Do not use canned or boiled chickpeas; they turn to mush in the oil and fall apart.

In a food processor, combine the drained raw chickpeas, parsley, cilantro, onion, garlic, cumin, coriander, cayenne, and salt. Pulse — do not puree — scraping down repeatedly, until the mixture is a damp, uniform, bright-green rubble the texture of coarse wet sand or couscous. You are looking for grind, not paste: it should be fine enough to clump when squeezed but still show distinct grains. Stop the moment it holds together.

Just before frying — not before — sprinkle the baking soda over the chilled mix and work it in quickly; it lightens the interior and gives a crisper crust, but it loses lift if it sits. Form walnut-sized balls or little patties, pressing firmly so they hold, then roll the surface in toasted sesame seeds. Add the soda at the last minute: mixed in early it activates and goes flat, and the fritters fry leaden.

Heat the oil to 175°C / 350°F — hot enough that a pinch of mix sizzles instantly and floats. Fry the fritters in batches without crowding, turning once, for 3 to 4 minutes until deep mahogany-brown and crackly all over. Too cool and they drink oil and stay greasy and raw; too hot and the crust burns before the raw center cooks through. Drain on a rack, salt lightly while hot, and serve at once with tahini sauce, pickles, and warm bread.