Chickpeas or Garbanzo beans are a good source of protein, manganese, dietary fiber, copper, phosphorus, and iron. Eating chickpea can lower “bad” cholesterol, give you energy, stabilize blood sugar, and provide antioxidant effects. Chickpea seeds are also eaten fresh as green vegetables.
Could you please tell me how to prepare the dried chickpeas that can be found in the arab stores or in the train in India? It´s perfect for travelling.
Soak chickpeas overnight and next day cook them in pressure cooker. Add little baking soda to it in pressure cooker and let it cook for 3-4 whistles.
Adding baking soda cooks them fast. Later on cooked chickpeas can be freezed.
I actually soak the chick peas overnight and then cook them in a pressure cooker with enough water for about 15 mins or so or if the cooker has a whistle cook until 4 whistles It turns out quite well ie soft.
cooking time of dried legumes in a pressure cooker is highly dependent on mineral content (hardness) of your water. if you have hard water, soaking and cooking times are much longer than if you have soft water. you might want to repeat your experiment with de-mineralized water if you have access to a cheap source. (RO/DI filtered)
cook in a pressure cooker for about (5 minutes on full)
Dried chickpeas are a hassle. They have to soak overnight (8 to 10 hours) and then be cooked in a pressure cooker.
I don’t think they go stale, but you do need to use a pressure cooker.
I have given into using canned chickpeas.
Hi Jaya, thank you for your response.
I’ll try the pressure cooker – dried chickpeas are sooo much cheaper.
I might also try freezing them once cooked, for convenience
Don’t be surprised if the first run through the pressure cooker is not enough to soften them sufficiently. You may need to do a second pressure cooking to get them soft like the ones in a can. Trial and error will probably get it to the point you know how long to cook them on the first try and not need to do the pressure cooker a second time.
And yes, they are definitely cheaper than canned. I would be curious to know how they survive a stay in the freezer!
Hi,
After soaking dry chickpeas over night, you can freeze them in batches(as per your consumption) in freezer in ziploc bags. for a couple of month they ll be perfectly fine for use.
thanks
Sorry this is such a late response.
I enjoy the taste of dried chickpeas that have been soaked and cooked, much better than the canned variety. Canned ones have a disgusting, salt laden liquid, which is unhealthy and has to be washed off thoroughly.
Having said that, I have been know to used canned when in a hurry, but when my life is in that much of a hurry, then I have to reassess it to accomodate the pleasure of preparing, cooking, and eating good food.
You can rehydrate dried chickpeas (or any other dried legume, except peanut I suppose) without a pressure cooker, in a plain pot of water (with 45g (3 tbp) table salt – or preferably, non-iodized/kosher/pickling salt – and optionally 5g (1 tsp) baking soda), but they take a lot longer and it is more effort.
For 453g (1 pound) of dried chickpeas, I usually heat a 4l (~1 gallon) of water to boiling with a third of the salt, then add the chickpeas and remove from the heat before allowing them to soak for 8-10 hours. After that, I drain them and add the same amount of fresh water and a third more salt, bring to a boil again, then turn down the heat to low and simmer for an hour. I then allow it too cool, drain the water again, put the beans in a sealable container with the remaining salt. It can keep this way for 3-4 days.
Obviously, if you have a pressure cooker, use that.
I forgot to add, “top up the container with fresh water”.
Hi Aunty,
Have you any tips on cooking dried chick peas? I have a batch which I have been unable to “soften” no matter how long I soak or cook them… Can they be stale?
Kindest Regards,
Bryan
Soak the chickpeas in heavily salted water overnight. The salt softens the skin. when you are ready to cook, rinse them well. I saute onions and garlic and then add a few peppercorns and bay leaves. Then add the chickpeas in water and simmer for about 45 minutes. I save some of the water to use in other dishes later. Drain and use in other recipes.