Dried chickpeas

Tom Dunne

So I bought a bag of dried chickpeas, but there are no instructions on them. I was told they are tastier than the tinned variety.

Any ideas what I do with them? I assume I need to soak them overnight and then boil them, is that correct? And then use them as I would a can of chickpeas?

Or is there some other magic to them?

nompere

No magic.

Soaking overnight is good. Then rinse, bring to the boil in clean water, and simmer. The older the chickpeas the longer they will take to soften, but start checking after about an hour, until you have the texture you like.

After that - yes; use as you would a tin.

quaalude

Tom Dunne wrote: »

So I bought a bag of dried chickpeas, but there are no instructions on them. I was told they are tastier than the tinned variety.

Any ideas what I do with them? I assume I need to soak them overnight and then boil them, is that correct? And then use them as I would a can of chickpeas?

Or is there some other magic to them?

I use soaked-only chick peas, not cooked ones, to make falafel, but as you've to soak them overnight, I soak them first, then freeze them, so I've got pre-soaked frozen ones to hand if I fancy falafel. They defrost simply - just empty them into a bowl and pour boiling water over them, and leave them 5 minutes.

So I soak a load of them (however much is in the bag you get in Tescos - I'm in work right now and can't check) overnight in cold water in a big bowl in the fridge, then the next day drain them, and bag them into a few bags. My falafel recipe (enough for 2 greedy people, 3 civilized ones) takes exactly one pint glass full of soaked chickpeas, so that's what I put into each bag in the freezer.

Hope that helps! Let me know if you want the falafel recipe - it's an oven one that works well, and doesn't have the messy hassle of deep-frying.

Meemars

quaalude wrote: »

I use soaked-only chick peas, not cooked ones, to make falafel, but as you've to soak them overnight, I soak them first, then freeze them, so I've got pre-soaked frozen ones to hand if I fancy falafel. They defrost simply - just empty them into a bowl and pour boiling water over them, and leave them 5 minutes.

So I soak a load of them (however much is in the bag you get in Tescos - I'm in work right now and can't check) overnight in cold water in a big bowl in the fridge, then the next day drain them, and bag them into a few bags. My falafel recipe (enough for 2 greedy people, 3 civilized ones) takes exactly one pint glass full of soaked chickpeas, so that's what I put into each bag in the freezer.

Hope that helps! Let me know if you want the falafel recipe - it's an oven one that works well, and doesn't have the messy hassle of deep-frying.

Yes, Please quaalude! Would love an oven-based falafel recipe. I can't seem to get consistent results when frying. They can disintegrate into mush and nothingness. Oven sounds great.

quaalude

Meemars wrote: »

Yes, Please quaalude! Would love an oven-based falafel recipe. I can't seem to get consistent results when frying. They can disintegrate into mush and nothingness. Oven sounds great.

No worries, Meemars - I'll post it later on

Tom Dunne

quaalude wrote: »

Hope that helps! Let me know if you want the falafel recipe - it's an oven one that works well, and doesn't have the messy hassle of deep-frying.

Absolutely.

Where I started all this was sitting in between two Arabs at lunch the other day (I'm in the Middle East). It was Arabic food, so hummus and falafel were on the table (along with a multitude of other delicious food).

So they tell me that the dried chickpeas are so much better when making hummus. I also remarked how much I loved the falafel, imagine my surprise to find out that it too was made from chickpeas (the green colour threw me).

So, a big YES to a falafel recipe.

Little Alex

I've made falafel quite a few times recently. Can't get enough of them!

I know that you're supposed to make them with raw chickpeas, but I just don't like the taste of them. It's the same with lentils. I only like them after they have been cooked.

It is possible to make falefel with cooked chickpeas and they do keep their shape fabulously while being fried, but you need to add a couple of spoonfuls of flour into the mix for this to happen. The first time I made them I used cooked chickpeas and the first batch of them of course disintegrated into nothing during the frying. After stiffening the rest of the mix up with flour they worked great.

I would add enough flour so that the mix is stiff enough that you can roll a falafel into a ball and it keeps it shape without collapsing in on itself and then fry one or two of them to see if they work.

Just to see if it would work I also tried making falafel out of other beans/pulses: green lentils, black eyed peas and even out of a can of baked beans! :pac:

For them I washed the sauce off and used peanut butter instead of tahina. They were really good. Really fluffy with a crisp shell. Of course, they're not really falafel any more, but they were still good.

FTGFOP

Was it just chickpeas and flour that was in your mix? Might try it out with a can of cooked chickpeas I have hanging around for ages.

Daisies

quaalude wrote: »

Hope that helps! Let me know if you want the falafel recipe - it's an oven one that works well, and doesn't have the messy hassle of deep-frying.

+1 for the falafel recipe. Love love love falafel

Bannasidhe

Daisies wrote: »

+1 for the falafel recipe. Love love love falafel

+2 for the recipe. I love falafel but don't have a deep fat fryer.

Little Alex

FTGFOP wrote: »

Was it just chickpeas and flour that was in your mix? Might try it out with a can of cooked chickpeas I have hanging around for ages.

Yeah. Two or three heaped teaspoons would be enough for a can. Then fry a test one - before rolling up the whole lot - and see if it works.

quaalude

OK, here's the recipe. After all this talk about it, I made it last night when my Da came over to dinner. I took some pics too. Please try it and let me know how you get on.
(You can taste the a little of the raw mix as you go, to get an idea of the seasoning, and adjust it).

Oven falafel

Ingredients

1 pint glass full soaked chickpeas (see my post above about soaking and freezing)
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped coarsely
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped coarsely
Handful of parsley - flat-leaf or curly is grand. Baby spinach is fine too.

2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1/2 teaspoon baking soda (bread soda)
1/2 teaspoon chili flakes (I'm sure chili powder would do grand)
1/2 teaspoon turmeric

2 tablespoons flour - chickpea if you have it, but plain is fine

Method



1. Process all ingredients except the flour to a coarse purée



2. Mix flour through mixture with a spoon

3. Form into balls - about makes about 12 to 14



4. Stick in fridge for 20 mins to firm

5. Heat oven to 210 degrees while they're in the fridge

6. Put a baking sheet with 1 tablespoon oil in the oven to heat

7. When firm, put on baking sheet

8. Cook for 15 mins, take out, then flip each ball

9. Cook another 7 minutes, remove to warmed bowl



10. Serve with whatever you like! Pictured is homemade hummus, fried haloumi, ketchup with a little Tabasco, creme fraiche with garlic and lemon juice, and a plate of pickles, tomatoes, olives, salad leaves, red onion. Also pitta bread, and spiced mushrooms. (My cat Teddy is in the pic too).

FTGFOP

Quaalude delivars.

Tom Dunne

Excellent! The fact that they are oven baked is even better as my Arabic friends warned me about how bad for you too much falafel is.

I also notice the beer in the picture - great minds think alike!

This will be on the hit list at the weekend.

Daisies

This makes me very happy. I am making falafel this weekend

JCabot

They are great for making hummas and also you can sprout them

rubadub

If you have a pressure cooker you can often cook dried stuff without presoaking, though it probably does better with a presoak.

You can get gram flour and other similar flours in many Asian shops which is like chickpea flour, some are chickpea flour some use something similar to chickpeas. Seems to be differing opinions over the definitions -so if somebody does come on saying "gram flour is definitely made from X" do not take it as gospel as other manufacturers might not agree.

nompere

quaalude wrote: »

OK, here's the recipe.

I tried this at the weekend as part of an Asian vegetarian evening. I'm an omnivore, but the two guests weren't so I was being nice.

Very easy, and most enjoyable. I had a few left over which I nibbled on over the next couple of days.

quaalude

nompere wrote: »

I tried this at the weekend as part of an Asian vegetarian evening. I'm an omnivore, but the two guests weren't so I was being nice.

Very easy, and most enjoyable. I had a few left over which I nibbled on over the next couple of days.

Glad to hear it

MissFlitworth

(apologies for dragging up old thread but..) These are so good! Just ate pretty much a 2 person portion all to myself with a little for lunch tomorrow, so many failure falafels in the past, delighted!

quaalude

MissFlitworth wrote: »

(apologies for dragging up old thread but..) These are so good! Just ate pretty much a 2 person portion all to myself with a little for lunch tomorrow, so many failure falafels in the past, delighted!

Glad you liked the recipe, and the pic is lovely!