Have you ever gotten excited about a new food only to try it and wind up disappointed or, even worse, hating it? I finally got around to trying black chickpeas last week, and I’m sorry to say that I was disappointed and my family was even less impressed. My husband, who likes almost everything, just tolerated them, and our daughter wound up picking them out of her food. So why am I posting this recipe? Well, this richly spiced rice salad was delicious in spite of the black chickpeas, which can easily be replaced with regular chickpeas or another legume.
So what are black chickpeas? As you might have guessed, they’re chickpeas and they’re black. Or, at least, they’re darker than the chickpeas most Americans use, sort of a reddish brown, and they’re smaller, too. I’ve bought them at both Whole Foods and at an Indian grocery store for about a quarter of the Whole Foods price (two pounds for $2.99), so I recommend buying them from an Indian grocery if you can. They’ll probably be labeled “Kala Chana” or “whole black gram.”
Besides being darker and smaller than regular chickpeas, black garbanzo beans are firmer and have a much thicker outer skin. I think it was this outer skin that put my family off. We’re used to the soft, melt-in-your-mouth texture of white chickpeas, and the firmness of these prevented them from blending well in the rice salad. I enjoyed their chewiness and slightly nutty flavor much better when I ate them alone as a snack, sprinkled with cajun seasoning. If you like to snack on roasted chickpeas, you might want to try boiling up a batch of black chickpeas for a change.
To prepare them, I put them in my slow cooker and added boiling water until it was about two inches above the peas. Then I cooked them on high for 6 to 8 hours, checking every now and then to see if they were tender. (This is how I cook regular chickpeas, too, though they usually cook more quickly.) I still have two pounds of black chickpeas left, so I’ll be giving them a second chance soon. See the bottom of this post for a list of delicious-looking kala chana recipes from other bloggers.
Curried Rice Salad with Black Chickpeas and Mango
Ingredients
- 1 large onion , chopped
- 4 cloves garlic , minced
- 1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
- 1 large tomato finely chopped
- 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon cardamom
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper , or to taste
- 1/4 cup chickpea cooking broth (or vegetable broth)
- 2 cups cooked black chickpeas , regular chickpeas, or well-drained black beans
- 4 cups cooked brown basmati rice
- 1/2 teaspoon garam masala , or to taste
- 1/4 cup minced parsley or cilantro
- 1 mango , peeled and diced
- Lime juice , to taste
- Salt , to taste
- 2 tablespoons slivered almonds or toasted pine nuts (optional)
Instructions
- Heat a large, non-stick pot or wok over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until it begins to brown. If necessary, add a splash of water or vegetable broth to prevent sticking, but not a lot. When it begins to brown, add the garlic and cumin seeds and stir for a minute. Reduce heat to medium, add the tomato and next 5 ingredients, and cook until the tomato softens and begins to break down.
- Add a quarter cup of the chickpea cooking liquid (or vegetable broth), the chickpeas, and the brown rice. Stir well, and if the mixture seems dry, add a little more broth. Cover and cook on low for about 5 minutes.
- Stir in the garam masala and remove from heat. Transfer to a large serving bowl and add parsley and mango. Season to taste with fresh lime juice and salt. Sprinkle with almonds or pine nuts.
- Serve at room temperature or refrigerate and serve cold. Letting it chill overnight improves flavor.
Notes
Nutritional info is approximate.
Black Chickpea Recipes from Other Bloggers:
- Slow Cooker Recipe for Vegan Black Garbanzo Bean Curry, a no-oil recipe from Kalyn’s Kitchen
- Creamy Spicy Black Chickpea Curry with Potatoes from Love Food Eat
- Masaledar Kaala Chana- Spicy Black Chick Peas from Honest Cooking
- Punjabi Chole Masala (Channa / Chickpeas) Recipe from Edible Garden
Michelle @ Eat Move Balance
Thanks for the heads up on black chickpeas. I would have been the first to buy a big bag of them–because I love chickpeas, and a different version would have intrigued me. Maybe I’ll just keep my eye out for some in a bulk section, and try a bit. 🙂
Devi
I didn’t even know that there are black chickpeas… and I know many weird foods. Maybe I should have a look at a big asian market…
Khadijah
This looks so delicious! This is going on my Must Try Soon list, but with regular chickpeas I think! Thanks!
Stefanie
I had the same disapointment as you with the black chickpeas. They are not bad but not worth going out of your way for. Your recipe looks good though.
Judith
I was glad to find that someone else shared my experience with black chickpeas. I saw them at Whole Foods for the first time last month and bought a bag. Cooked them with my regular chickpeas (pressure cooker for 2 hours). Hated them! Didn’t like the texture, taste (not much of anything) and the atrocious skins, which made me gag. After the first experience, I picked out all the cooked black chickpeas from the regular ones and fed the garbage disposal, then tossed the uncooked remainder into the trash.
Millie Snyder
This recipe looks delicious despite what you thought of the black chickpeas. I’ve never tried them though so I’ll have to give them a try. I think I’m more fixated on the mango you used. I love mango! It looks like a nice addition to these flavors. Thanks for sharing!
Susan Voisin
I love mango, too, and I’ve been using it in everything lately. Expect at least one more mango-infused recipe from me this summer!
Reena
I’m a regular reader of your website and have made many of your creations. Love your recipes and your creativity 🙂
In this case, I would recommend making the black channa the Indian way, like some of the other links you’ve included. Keep in mind it’s also an acquired taste. In Indian cooking, it is also pressure cooked with water and salt. The water reserved for drinking plain (hot, it’s delicious and also a remedy for colds) and the dry cooked channa used in a recipe similar to the link you included ( http://honestcooking.com/2011/08/25/masaledar-kaala-channa-spicy-black-chick-peas/ ).
Black channa is great for losing weight, with so much fiber and protein.
liz
I grew up eating black chickpea curry. In Kerala, in southwestern India, we eat it with a steamed coconut rice cake (that’s not really a good description – google “puttu and kadala” if you want a better description or images). It’s a yummy and hearty breakfast. The puttu (rice cake) is a bit hard to make as it requires special equipment, but the kadala curry is great with rice. Susan, perhaps you could try a batch with your leftover chickpeas?
janet @ the taste space
Totally with you, Susan. I didn’t not like the black chickpeas, I just didn’t like them as much as regular chickpeas. I don’t plan on replenishing our stash once we use it up but until then, I am still on the look-out for great ways to use them. Thanks for the other links, too.
Caralyn @ glutenfreehappytummy
that looks so delicious! i’ve never had black chickpeas before — i’ll have to check them out!
Kalyn
I’m surprised you guys didn’t like them. Maybe it was the long cooking in the slow cooker that made the ones I had so good. And I didn’t notice the skins on the ones I had either.
Angela W
Hi Susan — Just made your dish for tonight’s dinner. I took your experience to heart on the black chick peas and simply used the “regular” chickpeas. The dish tastes FANTASTIC! It’s chilling in the fridge. I think it will go great with a side of marinated cucumber slices (of which we have an abundance from our garden!)
Thanks so much. 🙂
Lisa @ The Raw Serenity
I have never heard of black chick peas before, so thanks for the introduction!
They sound suitable for roasting them for a crunchy snack.
This dish looks and sounds amazing, thanks for sharing x
Reia@TheCrueltyFreeReview
I don’t know if I’d go out of my way to buy black chickpeas but I will certainly try this recipe. It looks perfect for a summer lunch!
sharron sussman
Hi, Susan –
I, too was disappointed in kala chana after just one dish I modified slightly from a traditional one in the big Indian Vegetarian cookbook. But your suggestion about roasting them for a snack was a good one!
Any specifics about pre-roasting textural goal? ( I live at 4500′ & can’t count on simple boiling time, which also probably depends on the age & source of the bean…..) Also roasting time/temperature? I’m nearly 70 and have never roasted a bean, can you believe it?!
Sounds like a nutty idea…
Susan Voisin
Sharron, I haven’t actually tried roasting them, but I do have instructions for roasting regular chickpeas here: https://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2008/08/healthy-crunchy-three-guilt-free-snacks.html. I think it’s one of those things that you have to play by ear. I would probably cook them until they’re soft and then roast them until they’re crunchy.
GetSkinnyGoVegan
Oh this looks wonderful!
juggernaut
I’m wondering did you get a bad batch- they look more wrinkly than the ones I’ve got in UK and Ireland and they look a bit darker too. I totally agree that you have to use them in a indian recipe and ressure cook with salt – try that and see if they improve. They should be slightly tougher than regular chickpeas but also a bit nuttier (plain chickpeas can be a bit dull).
If you still hate them try sprouting them. Now I think of it I’ve never used them for houmous – wonder what its like?
Angel
The salad looks very nice. Thanks for sharing about black chickpeas. I have never tried them before. They look nice and add good contrast to a dish. Hopefully you will like them better in the next recipe! 🙂
Hema
First time here, loved the different recipes with the Indian ingredients, would come back for more, following u on FB..
Vegetarians
I just saw these Black Chickpeas at the market today and I was so curious, but thanks for that I won’t have the same disapointment as you did with the Black Chickpeas.
Kimberly
I’d never heard of black chickpeas, either. 🙂 This rice salad looks delish…
Emily
Thanks for sharing this recipe! My dining hall during freshmen year used to serve a delicious curried rice with pineapple salad. (Come to think of it, that was the ONLY good thing they served!) I can’t wait to try this out!
Rachel
Mmmm…I love mango and I LOVE Indian spices. I might have to try this with white chickpeas!
Debra Thomson
I’m glad you posted this even though the recipe didn’t turn out the way you hoped. I’m going to try it with regular chickpeas – I just bought some dried chickpeas today for the first time, and I had no idea what I was going to do with them! Perfect timing – Thanks!
Anu
Kala chana can be an acquired taste for someone used to eating regular white garbanzo beans, but I have very fond memories associated with them. My mother used to prepare Sundal with these. Kala chana chat is a popular beach food. We’d go to Juhu Chowpatty beach and there were vendors who would scoop these into little bowls made of leaves and we would stroll around enjoying a tangy-sweet treat. I always loved that these vendors would be found scattered along the beach, away from all the crowded pav bhaji stalls clustered together. My mouth is watering even as I write this 🙂
Ok, coming to main point. I had little success making a flavorful dish out of this pesky little bean till a few months. Then, my friend suggested (pressure)cooking it a little longer and with more water than white garbanzo. She also suggested cooking with Badshah chana masala powder – just follow the recipe on the box. It worked! I eat is as a curry with some whole wheat loaf bread or as a salad with some fresh tomato/onion/raw mango/cilantro/lemon juice. Oh, do give it a try!
http://www.nandyala.org/mahanandi/archives/2006/07/24/chickpea-sanaga-guggullu-black-and-white/
http://www.ishopindian.com/badshah-chana-masala-pr-21905.html
Balvinder
Hi Susan, I have never seen a non indian cooking black chickpeas. Most of them do not know and if they do they don’t like cos it takes long time to cook. and I just love mango in sweet and savory dishes.
Hannah
Try adding half a teaspoon of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) to soaking water and more to the pot when you’re cooking the chickpeas. The fiber in the skins toughens when cooked in an acidic environment. Bicarb raises the pH for more tender peas.
Lynn
like Liz, my family is also from Kerala, India. I grew up (in the US) eating “cudla” in a couple different ways and it is still my favorite bean– but I have never had success cooking it in a non-Indian recipe. My favorite way to eat it is sautéing the precooked beans ( in a pressure cooker) with onion, curry leaf, fresh shredded coconut , salt, and chili powder. This is traditionally served with “congee” or rice soup and is delicious.
Linda
This looks yummy! Just a suggestion on the cooking of the chick peas here…in my experience you have to soak these chick peas overnight and then pressure cook them, it softens the outer skin. Now they are among my favorite tasting!
The Vegan Gypsy
Oh, this looks delicious! I’ll definitely be trying this one with regular chickpeas soon!
Alma
I’m puzzled by the long time in your pressure cooker. Did you not soak them for 24 hours as is common in Indian recipes?
Susan Voisin
I cooked them in a slow cooker, not a pressure cooker.
Padmaja
Hi Susan, Don’t know if you’ve tried the prepare the brown chickpeas since you posted this recipe. I prepared this recipe from Show Me The Curry.com
http://showmethecurry.com/subzis-vegetables/butternut-squash-with-black-chickpeas-subzi-kumro-chokka.html
It was delicious, and with all of the warming spices, perfect for the cold and damp weather we’ve been having. I had i t over a some steamed kale. But, I served it to my family with brown rice, and steamed spinach.
Herley Taylor
I might be only 24 years old but I love to cook. My mom used to always try to get me to stay out of the kitchen until one early morning back in 2002 just before I turned twelve years old as the sun’s mango tinted rays streamed into her bedroom I walked into her room with a cheddar cheese grits, scrambled cheddar eggs, bacon, toast and a glass of orange juice on a tray whilst she confabulated with an acquaintance of hers on her cordless house phone. I’ve been living on my own since I turned 18 years old and obviously had to learn how to cook many dishes or otherwise would have wasted so much money purchasing take-out and/or delivery.
Anyhow, I will be staying at home with my “mommy” and step dad for the rest of this summer just until school starts again and I can’t wait to fix them as well as myself this dish for the first time. This is NOT typical dish within the African American community but I’m sure that’s a no-brainer. I’m so happy to have discovery this website and dish…. you will see more comments from me frequently. For me healthy dishes that are visually appealing are a must-try.