I've never used dried chickpeas before, but I'm not wanting for chickpea recipes. The bag of dried chickpeas I got contains no instructions for cooking. I know that I need to soak them in water for a period X and then cook them for a period Y. I could not find conclusive answers for what X (varies from 4 to 24 hours) and Y (varies from 40m to 2h) should be.
So what I need to know is:
- how long should I soak them before cooking?
- how long should I cook them?
- are there other things to take into account (like adding salt when soaking, but not when cooking, or the other way around)?
Best Answer
The answer depends on where you live, and what type you have brought.
In many countries that import chickpeas they heat treat them to kill seed-borne diseases and insects. The heat treatment process makes them more difficult to cook, and soaking times double or triple.
Beans from exporters with phytosanitary certificates can be imported without heat treatment; these are the ones you want to get.
I don't think you can tell which is which by looking at them. At the moment we have some particularly dark, dry, and dead looking beans that soak up beautifully in 8 hours!
Soak non-heat treated beans for 8 to 12 hours, heat treated beans for 24 to 36 hours. Some overly heat treated beans will never fully revive, and you are best to return these to the shop as "faulty".
Soak and cook without salt, unless you are going to mash them. They fall apart more readily if salted.
If you are not mashing them, the secret to great chickpea taste is after soaking and cooking in water, is to lightly fry them with a little olive oil until dark spot appear, keep them or the pan moving so none burn. Then add the sauce, or add them to whatever dish you are preparing.