Dried Chickpeas

These are dried chickpeas: whole chickpeas, dried and uncooked, ready to soak and cook at home. In Egypt they are sold as hummus el-sham, the same name that is given to the hot winter cup made from them; it is a traditional name and says nothing about where they were grown. They are 100% chickpeas with nothing added. We buy them in bulk and pack them ourselves into resealable pouches of 500 g and 1 kg.

Dried chickpeas need a long soak before cooking: eight to twelve hours in cold water, during which they swell to about twice their size. They then simmer for about an hour to an hour and a half, or thirty to forty minutes in a pressure cooker, until soft. Cooked from dry, they keep a firmer bite than tinned chickpeas, and their cooking water becomes a broth of its own. The taste is mild and slightly sweet, and it takes on whatever goes into the pot: onion, cumin, garlic, lemon.

In Egyptian winters, street carts sell hummus el-sham: hot chickpeas served in a cup of their own spiced broth, with lemon juice and cumin. At home the same chickpeas make hummus, blended smooth with tahini, lemon and garlic. They go into stews with tomato and onion, into salads with parsley, lemon and olive oil, and a spoonful goes on top of koshari. Roasted in the oven with a little oil and salt, they turn into a crunchy snack.

Before cooking, spread them on a plate and pick out any small stones or husks, then rinse them in a sieve under cold water until the water runs almost clear. Soak them for eight to twelve hours, or overnight, in plenty of cold water, about three times as much water as chickpeas. Drain them, cover them with fresh water, bring them to the boil, skim off the foam and simmer for about an hour to an hour and a half, until one crushes easily between two fingers; in a pressure cooker, allow thirty to forty minutes. For hummus el-sham, keep the cooking water, season it with cumin and salt, and serve the hot chickpeas in it in cups, with lemon juice squeezed over. For hummus, cook them until very soft and blend them while still warm with tahini, lemon juice, garlic, salt and a little of the cooking water. To roast them, dry the cooked chickpeas well, toss them with oil and salt and bake them at about 200 °C for about half an hour, shaking the tray now and then, until crisp.

Chickpea allergy is not common, but it does exist: if you have ever reacted to chickpeas, lentils, peas or other pulses, do not eat them. We cannot confirm that they were processed or packed away from nuts, peanuts or sesame, so if you have a food allergy, ask us before you order. Small stones can turn up in any pulses bought in bulk, which is why they are picked over before cooking. Eat them cooked, never raw.

Two things this page does not claim. Our supplier does not state where these chickpeas were grown or whether they were kept apart from wheat and barley, so no country is named here and they are not sold as gluten-free. Chickpeas are also widely sold with long lists of claimed effects, and this listing repeats none of them. They are sold as food, and nothing here is a health claim or medical advice.

Dried chickpeas keep for a long time, but not for ever: old chickpeas take longer to soften, and in a warm kitchen an open pouch can draw small pantry insects. Keep the pouch pressed shut, cool and dry, away from spices and other foods with a smell of their own, or tip the chickpeas into a jar with a tight lid. Count on about a year of best taste from delivery while the pouch stays sealed, and about six months once it is open. A little dust in the pouch is normal and rinses away. If you ever see small insects, fine webs or tiny holes in the chickpeas, or they smell musty, they are best thrown away.