How to cook chickpeas?

chickpeas cooking instructions

CHICKPEAS IN THE KITCHEN

How to cook your chickpeas?

The following instructions should be followed:

  • To increase the digestibility of chickpeas, you should soak them the day before for about 8 hours at least.
  • Subsequently, they should be rinsed to remove undigested sugars that may be dissolved in water.
  • The practice of adding baking soda to chickpeas is not adequate. The addition of this compound alkalinizes the water and contributes to the destruction of vitamin B. Furthermore, this practice spoils their taste.
  • Chickpeas cooking water should not contain magnesium or calcium because these minerals combine with legumin of chickpeas and makes them hard. We must not add salt while they are being cooked. If we add it during cooking, they also will get hard.
  • Salt must be added once they are cooked.

How long do chickpeas take to be cooked?

Chickpeas take between one and 2 hours to be cooked in a pot and over 20 minutes if we cook them in a pressure cooker.

What type of food chickpeas combine with?

Cooked chickpeas with vegetablesCooked chickpeas with vegetables

Chickpeas go well with vegetables or cereals. Besides these food combinations are also supplemental, dietetically speaking.

As vegetables do not require such a long cooking, they should be added when chickpeas are half-baked, or they can be added when chickpeas are already cooked and, afterwards, saute all of them lightly. Chickpeas go perfectly with rice, onions or chard.

Chickpea salad is also very convenient. It is presented with cold cooked chickpeas and other vegetables, to which some spice or herb has been added. Any of them is well suited, for example, cumin, mint, bay leaf, thyme, parsley, savory, anise or fennel.

Chickpeas dishes are very typical dishes in the Mediterranean and East cultures. Madrid stew is a universally known dish. Many dishes are made in India with chickpea flour that are called pakoras.

The following recipe is an example of a chickpea preparation:

VEGETARIAN CHICKPEAS STEW

Ingredients for 4:

Preparation:

  • Wash, peel and chop all vegetables.
  • Pour water into a saucepan and put the fire to boil. When starting to boil, add the vegetables and put it over a high flame until it starts to boil. When boiling is restarted, reduce heat, add oil and salt, stir and simmer for about 20 minutes.
  • After 20 minutes, add the previously cooked chickpeas. (See “How to cook your chickpeas above “)
  • Optionally you can add diced potatoes.
  • Cook for 15 minutes more.

How to serve:

  • Serve in a hot bowl as a starter.

punto rojoMore information on chickpeas.

This article was endorsed by Elisenda Carballido - Dietitian nutritionist. Postgraduate in Phytotherapy and master in Nutrition and Metabolism.
Editorial
Written by Editorial Botanical-online team in charge of content writing

15 July, 2021

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