Chickpeas are considered both a vegetable and protein food, helping you hit two important food groups at once. Not only are these nutty beans tasty and delicious but also are rich in a number of important nutrients that keep you well including protein, vitamins and minerals and they provide fibre too. Here are amazingly brilliant ways you can use those chickpeas lying on your kitchen counter:
ROASTED CHICKPEAS
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Blot chickpeas with a paper towel to dry them. In a bowl, toss chickpeas with olive oil, and season to taste with salt, garlic salt, and cayenne pepper. Spread on a baking sheet, and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until browned and crunchy. More: Roasted chickpeas recipe and benefits >>
BURGER PATTY
Chickpeas can make juicy veg burger patties that are crunchier on the outside and soft and juicy on the inside. All you need to do is boil or steam some pre-soaked chick peas and mash them up gently (you need them lumpy) with little potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, lots of onion, salt, chilli powder etc. make a patty and roast it on a greased pan. Put it between the buns along with anything else you like and consume hot!
SALADS
Chickpeas make a great addition to any salad. If you like creamy salads, you can boil the chickpeas and grind them to add in the salad. If you want to give your salad a crunchy feel, roast chickpeas and add them to your salads.
CREAMIER TOMATO SOUP
We all love tomato soups; who likes it thick and creamy? I certainly do. To make your tomato soup thicker and creamier, you can add some pre-boiled and pureed chickpeas into it. When you add chickpeas puree, you can totally give heavy cream a miss and make your soup healthy.
CHANA MASALA/CURRY
Chana masala/curry is a brilliant and tasty Indian way to consume chickpeas. Chana masala and curry are Indian dishes that use chickpeas as the main ingredient and add masala and other spices to it. This can be eaten with Indian bread and rice. Here is the recipe >>
VEG PATTIES
Chickpeas make great patties. All you need is onions, potato, chickpeas, green peas and cottage cheese. Boil or steam potato, chickpeas and green peas. Scrunch cottage cheese so as to get shredded texture. Mash all the ingredients together and add raw finely chopped onions to the mixture. Add some salt and mix well. Shape into hearts, circles, or any other shape you like and roast. Serve with sauce or yogurt.
CHOCOLATE CHICKPEA DELIGHT
To make this delicious sweet treat, simply roast chickpeas and keep them aside. In a bowl, mix together almond flour, milk, almond butter and some soaked rooled oats. Make a dough and use it to coat your chickpeas. Once you are done, dip it in chocolate ganache (Melt together chocolate bar and whipped cream) and freeze.