History may be written by the victors, but it is spoken by ordinary people. Which is how, in the everyday language of peasants, farmers, merchants and townsfolk, we are able to decode the secret history of things which the official historians do not record. For example, we know that the European chickpea arrived in India just a few centuries ago. Before then, the only chickpea grown on the subcontinent was small and dark, and called in Hindi Desi (”local”). When the whiter, plumper European chickpea arrived, it was given a new name-Kabuli channa – from which we can deduce its origin, Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. Since the first Mogul, Babur, used Kabul as his base from which to invade India, it is intriguing to conclude that he or his army might have brought the new, improved chickpea with him – and it makes Shah Jahan’s last request even more fitting.
The remarkably vivid shape of the chickpea has always caused wonderment. To the ancient Egyptians of the Twentieth Dynasty (1200-1085 BC) the seeds ressembled “falcon faces”. Since the falcon-headed god Amon-Re was their supreme deity, this would have been quite a compliment. However, to the Greeks, the chickpea’s knobbly shape looked like nothing more or less than erebinthos… testicles. The Romans thought they looked like rams heads (arietinum, from aries, a ram). Many languages use words for the chickpea which are ultimately derived from the Greek Kikus, meaning force or strength. The French pois chiche, the German Kichererbse and even the old English chich-pea (sometimes also Egyptian pea-it sounds similar) are all examples of this common root. Other names refuse to give up their secrets-how the Spanish came to call it garbanzo, for example, is anyone’s guess. The Anglo-Indian Bengal Gram comes from the early Portuguese traders name for grain-grão-but Bengal really has nothing to do with it, simply being used to denote the location of the earliest British conquests in India. Gram is today usually used to describe chickpea flour, the essential ingredient in poppadums and onion bajees. As for hummous, it is an Arabic word whose root goes back at least 5000 years to the Mesopotamian name for chickpea halluru.
Fully ninety per cent of the world’s chickpea harvest-about six million tonnes-is grown (and consumed) in Asian countries. The chickpeas in the average Western supermarket are, however, more likely to have come from Ethiopia, Mexico or Turkey – and frankly, there is no perceivable difference in taste between them. Of more concern is the age of the beans – old ones take longer to soak and to cook, and can taste rather musty – so avoid anything over nine months old.
Chickpeas should be carefully washed, then soaked in a large volume of water overnight before cooking. Drain away the soaking water, rinse the chickpeas and cook them in fresh water. Cooking times vary: in my experience, the only practical way is to use a pressure cooker. Turn the soaked peas into the cooker and just cover with fresh water; cook at full pressure for approximately 25 minutes.
Here’s how to check whether your chickpeas are properly cooked-pop a couple into your mouth, and try to squash them against the roof of your mouth using only your tongue. If they do not yield readily, they are not properly cooked, and eating them may cause excessive gas. Unfortunately, many restaurants and cafes fail to cook them sufficiently with the result that some diners can suffer discomfort. Always cook more chickpeas than you will need for your recipe, the excess can be kept in an airtight container in your refrigerator, and a handful thrown into salads, soups etc over the next day or two, to give them extra flavour and nutritional substance.
