Chickpea Disaster

I picked up a vegetarian cookbook at Ed McKay's bookstore several weeks ago and have been working my way through the recipes.  Today, I decided to try Chickpea Falafel, which was supposed to look like the picture above.  Unfortunately, it didn't turn out that way.

I processed the chickpeas, fresh garlic and parsley, cumin, and an egg as the directions instructed.  Meanwhile, I heated the peanut oil while I formed the pureed chickpea mixture into little balls.  The first two little balls that went into the sizzling oil immediately did what they were supposed to -- turn golden brown in 2 minutes.  The next ones literally fizzled apart one by one, no matter how carefully I dropped them into the oil. 

The end result was two perfect little crispy falafels and a bowl of fried crumbs.  Determined not to waste my time or the ingredients that went into this disaster, I dished up the crumbs into a nice bowl and served them with a side of Cilantro Mayo dip, spiced with red chili peppers.  My husband, good man that he is, ate every last bite and asked for more.