The night before, soak the dried chickpeas in water. Use a large bowl, and make sure the water covers the chickpeas by 2-3 inches, as they will soak up the water and more than double in size. Drain and rinse before use.
Add the onion, parsley, cilantro, pepper, garlic, cumin, salt, cardamom and black pepper to a food processor and pulse several times until chopped. Add the chickpeas and pulse them until mixture is very finely chopped and uniform. You don't want any big chunks. It should be a beautiful green color.
Transfer the falafel mixture to a bowl and add the chickpea flour and baking soda. If you find the mixture is too wet, you can add another tablespoon of chickpea flour. If it's too dry and crumbly, you can add a teaspoon or two of water. Stir together, it should hold together when pressed together. cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes to one hour. This will meld the flavors and allow the flour to soak up excess liquid.
Use your hands, an ice cream scoop or falafel scoop to form the falafel into balls or patties. Form all the falafel before you start cooking them.
Balls are best for deep frying or baking, small patties for pan frying or baking. Once the falafel are formed, you can cook them by your preferred method below.