Chickpeas in our A-Z (Page 4)

Chickpeas

The chickpea is an edible legume of the family Fabaceae.

There are two main kinds of chickpea:

Desi, which has small, darker seeds and a rough coat, cultivated mostly in the Indian subcontinent, Ethiopia, Mexico and Iran.
Kabuli, which has lighter coloured, larger seeds and a smoother coat, mainly grown in Southern Europe, Northern Africa, Afghanistan and Chile, also introduced during the 18th century to the Indian subcontinent)"

Chickpeas are high in protein, and one of the earliest cultivated vegetables. 7,500-year-old remains have been found in the Middle East.

Mature chickpeas can be cooked and eaten cold in salads, cooked in stews, ground into a flour called gram flour (also known as besan and used primarily in Indian cuisine), ground and shaped in balls and fried as falafel, fermented to make an alcoholic drink similar to sake, stirred into a batter and baked to make farinata, cooked and ground into a paste called hummus or roasted, spiced and eaten as a snack.

Dried chick peas need a long cooking time (1-2 hours) but will not easily fall apart when cooked longer. If soaked for 12-24 hours before use, cooking time can be considerably shortened (30 mins).

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