Chickpeas
About
An annual legume of the family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae. The chickpea is a key ingredient in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisines, used in hummus, and, when ground into flour, falafel. It also is important in Indian cuisine, used in salads, soups and stews, and curry, in chana masala, and in other meal products like channa.
Growing
The plant grows to 20–50 cm (8–20 in) high and has small, feathery leaves on either side of the stem. Chickpeas are a type of pulse, with one seedpod containing two or three peas. It has white flowers with blue, violet, or pink veins. Dozens of varieties of chickpea are cultivated throughout the world. In general, American and Iranian chickpeas are sweeter than Indian chickpeas. Kermanshah chickpeas in sizes 8 and 9 are considered to be among the highest quality in the world.
Common Recipes
Varieties
Desi chana
Has small, darker seeds and a rough coat. Desi chana can be black, green or speckled. This variety is hulled and split to make chana dal, Kurukshetra Prasadam (channa laddu)
White Chickpea or Garbanzo
lighter-coloured, larger, and with a smoother coat. Generally what you'd find around the world
Ceci neri
Both larger and darker than the 'desi' variety, only grown in Southern Italy.
Nutritional Information
Based on a 100g portion 1
| name | amount |
|---|---|
| water | 0 g |
| energy | 0 kJ |
| protein | 0 g |
| fat | 0 g |
References
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USDA Fooddata Central Database -- https://fdc.nal.usda.gov ↩
