Chickpea

The chickpea is an annual legume about half a metre tall with feathery leaves. Each small inflated pod usually holds one or two seeds. There are two main types: kabuli chickpeas, which are large, round and cream-coloured, popular in the Mediterranean and the Americas, and desi chickpeas, which are smaller, angular and darker, grown mostly in South Asia and eastern Africa.

Cooked chickpeas are tender, starchy and nutty with a slightly buttery texture. They are sold dried, canned, roasted as snacks, split and hulled as dal, and milled into besan or gram flour, which is also called chickpea flour. The cooking liquid, known as aquafaba, can be whipped as an egg replacer.

Chickpeas were first domesticated in the Fertile Crescent of the Near East, probably in what is now southeastern Turkey and neighbouring Syria, roughly ten thousand years ago. They are one of the earliest legumes brought into cultivation.

The English word chickpea comes from the Latin cicer, via Old French pois chiche. The Roman family name Cicero is believed to derive from the same word, supposedly referring to a mark on an ancestor's nose. The common name garbanzo is Spanish, likely of Basque or Greek origin, and Hindi chana points to the plant's important place in South Asian cooking.

Chickpeas spread across the ancient Mediterranean and into India, Ethiopia and Central Asia, and archaeologists have found remains at early Neolithic sites. They appear in Greek and Roman writings as both a food and a medicine, and in the medieval period they were used to make soups and porridges across Europe, as well as the Middle Eastern pastes that are the ancestors of hummus.

In the Middle East and North Africa, chickpeas became the foundation of dishes such as hummus, falafel and couscous stews, while in India they became essential in dal, curries and sweets. Spanish and Portuguese explorers carried the crop to the Americas, where it was adopted in Latin American cooking.

Today India is by far the largest producer, followed by countries including Australia, Turkey, Myanmar and Ethiopia. Chickpeas' ability to fix nitrogen and tolerate dry conditions makes them valuable in rotation with cereals. In recent decades they have surged in popularity in Western countries as a plant-based protein, in hummus, roasted snacks and chickpea pasta.

Chickpeas are used in hummus, falafel, stews such as Spanish cocido and Moroccan tagines, Indian chana masala, Italian pasta e ceci and salads. Chickpea flour makes socca in southern France, farinata in Italy, panisse in Marseille, pakoras and besan laddoo in India. Roasted chickpeas are a crunchy snack, and leblebi is a popular Turkish version.

Dried chickpeas need soaking and long cooking, while canned ones are ready to eat. Aquafaba, the liquid from cooking, whips into a foam used in vegan meringues and mousses. Young green chickpeas are eaten as a fresh snack in parts of the Middle East and India.

Chickpeas offer plant protein, fibre, folate, iron, magnesium and slowly digested carbohydrate, and they have a relatively low glycaemic response. Reviews of pulse consumption link regular intake with improved cholesterol levels and better blood sugar control, and chickpeas are a useful part of that picture.

Their fibre and fermentable carbohydrates can cause gas and bloating, especially when introduced suddenly into the diet. Soaking and thorough cooking help, and rinsing canned chickpeas reduces some of the gas-forming sugars and salt.