Chickpeas | |
---|---|
Sprouted chickpea | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Fabales |
Family: | Fabaceae |
Subfamily: | Faboideae |
Genus: | Cicer |
Species: | C. arietinum |
Binomial name | |
Cicer arietinum | |
Synonyms [1] | |
|
The chickpea or chick pea (Cicer arietinum) is an annual legume of the family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae. [2] [3] Its different types are variously known as gram [4] [5] or Bengal gram, [5] chhola, chhana, chana, or channa, garbanzo [5] or garbanzo bean, or Egyptian pea. [4] Chickpea seeds are high in protein. It is one of the earliest cultivated legumes, the oldest archaeological evidence of which was found in Syria. [6] [7] [8]
The chickpea is a key ingredient in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisines, used in hummus, and, when soaked and coarsely ground with herbs and spices then made into patties and fried, falafel. As an important part of Indian cuisine, it is used in salads, soups and stews, and curry, in chana masala, and in other food products that contain channa (chickpeas). In 2022, India accounted for 75% of global chickpea production. [9]
The name "chickpea", earlier "chiche pease", is modelled on Middle French pois chiche, where chiche comes from Latin cicer . "Chich" was used by itself in English from the 14th to the 18th centuries. [10] The word garbanzo, from an alteration of Old Spanish arvanço, came first to English as "garvance" in the 17th century, being gradually anglicized to "calavance", though that came to refer to a variety of other beans, including the hyacinth bean. The current form garbanzo comes directly from modern Spanish. [11]
The earliest well-preserved archaeobotanical evidence of chickpea outside its wild progenitor's natural distribution area comes from the site of Tell el-Kerkh, in modern Syria, dating back to the early Pre-Pottery Neolithic period around c.8400 BC. [12]
Cicer reticulatum is the wild progenitor of chickpeas. This species currently grows only in southeast Turkey, where it is believed to have been domesticated. The domestication event can be dated to around 7000 BC. Domesticated chickpeas have been found at Pre-Pottery Neolithic B sites in Turkey and the Levant, namely at Çayönü, Hacilar, and Tell es-Sultan (Jericho). [13] Chickpeas then spread to the Mediterranean region around 6000 BC and India around 3000 BC. [13]
In southern France, mesolithic layers in a cave at L'Abeurador, Hérault, have yielded chickpeas, carbon-dated to 6790±90 BC. [14] They were found in the late Neolithic (about 3500 BC) sites at Thessaly, Kastanas, Lerna and Dimini, Greece.
Chickpeas are mentioned in Charlemagne's Capitulare de villis (about 800 AD) as cicer italicum, as grown in each imperial demesne. Albertus Magnus mentions red, white, and black varieties. The 17th-century botanist Nicholas Culpeper noted "chick-pease or cicers" are less "windy" than peas and more nourishing. Ancient people also associated chickpeas with Venus because they were said to offer medical uses such as increasing semen and milk production, inducing menstruation and urination, and helping to treat kidney stones. [15] "White cicers" were thought to be especially strong and helpful. [15]
In 1793, ground, roasted chickpeas were noted by a German writer as a substitute for coffee in Europe. [16] In the First World War, they were grown for this use in some areas of Germany. [17] They are still sometimes brewed instead of coffee. [16]
Sequencing of the genome of the chickpea has been completed for 90 chickpea genotypes, including several wild species. [18] A collaboration of 20 research organizations, led by the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), sequenced CDC Frontier, a kabuli chickpea variety, and identified more than 28,000 genes and several million genetic markers. [19]
This section needs additional citations for verification .(June 2021) |
The plant grows to 20–50 cm (8–20 in) high and has small, feathery leaves on either side of the stem. Chickpeas are a type of pulse, with one seedpod containing two or three peas. It has white flowers with blue, violet, or pink veins.
The most common variety of chickpea in South Asia, Ethiopia, Mexico, and Iran is the desi type, also called Bengal gram. [20] It has small, dark seeds and a rough coat. It can be black, green or speckled. In Hindi, it is called desi chana 'native chickpea' or kala chana 'black chickpea', and in Assamese and Bengali, it is called boot or chholaa boot. It can be hulled and split to make chana dal , Kurukshetra Prasadam (channa laddu), [21] and bootor daali.
Around the Mediterranean and in the Middle East, the most common variety of chickpea is the kabuli type. It is large and tan-colored, with a smooth coat. It was introduced to India in the 18th century from Afghanistan and is called kabuli chana in Hindi. [22]
An uncommon black chickpea, ceci neri, is grown only in Apulia and Basilicata, in southern Italy. It is around the same size as garbanzo beans, larger and darker than the 'desi' variety.
This section needs additional citations for verification .(June 2021) |
Chickpeas are usually rapidly boiled for 10 minutes and then simmered for longer. Dried chickpeas need a long cooking time (1–2 hours) but will easily fall apart when cooked longer. If soaked for 12–24 hours before use, cooking time can be shortened by around 30 minutes. Chickpeas can also be pressure cooked or sous vide cooked at 90 °C (194 °F).
Mature chickpeas can be cooked and eaten cold in salads, cooked in stews, ground into flour, ground and shaped in balls and fried as falafel , made into a batter and baked to make farinata or socca, or fried to make panelle . Chickpea flour is known as gram flour or besan in South Asia and is used frequently in South Asian cuisine.
In Portugal, chickpeas are one of the main ingredients in rancho, eaten with pasta, meat, or rice. They are used in other hot dishes with bacalhau and in soups, meat stews, salads mixed with tuna and vegetables, olive oil, vinegar, hot pepper and salt. In Spain, they are used cold in tapas and salads, as well as in cocido madrileño .
Hummus is the Arabic word for chickpeas, which are often cooked and ground into a paste and mixed with tahini (sesame seed paste) to make ḥummuṣ bi ṭaḥīna , usually called simply hummus in English. By the end of the 20th century, hummus had become common in American cuisine: [23] by 2010, 5% of Americans consumed it regularly, [23] and it was present at some point in 17% of American households. [24]
In the Middle East, chickpeas are also roasted, spiced, and eaten as a snack, such as leblebi .
Chickpeas and Bengal grams are used to make curries. [25] They are one of the most popular vegetarian foods in the Indian subcontinent [26] and in diaspora communities of many other countries, served with a variety of bread or steamed rice. Popular dishes in Indian cuisine are made with chickpea flour, such as mirchi bajji and mirapakaya bajji. [27] In India, as well as in the Levant, unripe chickpeas are often picked out of the pod and eaten as a raw snack, and the leaves are eaten as a leaf vegetable in salads. In India, desserts such as besan halwa [28] and sweets such as mysore pak, and laddu are made.
Chickpea flour is used to make "Burmese tofu", which was first known among the Shan people of Burma. In South Asian cuisine, chickpea flour (besan) is used as a batter to coat vegetables before deep frying to make pakoras. The flour is also used as a batter to coat vegetables and meats before frying or fried alone, such as panelle (little bread), a chickpea fritter from Sicily. Chickpea flour is used to make the Mediterranean flatbread socca and is called panisse in Provence, southern France. It is made of cooked chickpea flour, poured into saucers, allowed to set, cut into strips, and fried in olive oil, often eaten during Lent. In Tuscany, chickpea flour (farina di ceci) is used to make an oven-baked pancake: the flour is mixed with water, oil and salt. Chickpea flour, known as kadlehittu in Kannada, is used for making sweet dish Mysore pak.
In the Philippines, chickpeas preserved in syrup are eaten as sweets and in desserts such as halo-halo .
Ashkenazi Jews traditionally serve whole chickpeas, referred to as arbes (אַרבעס) in Yiddish, at the Shalom Zachar celebration for baby boys. The chickpeas are boiled until soft and served hot with salt and lots of ground black pepper. [29]
Guasanas or garbanza is a Mexican chickpea street snack. The beans, while still green, are cooked in water and salt, kept in a steamer to maintain their humidity, and served in a plastic bag.
A chickpea-derived liquid ( aquafaba ) can be used as an egg white replacement to make meringue [30] or ice cream, with the residual pomace used as flour. [31]
Chickpeas are an energy and protein source as animal feed. [32]
Raw chickpeas have a lower trypsin and chymotrypsin inhibitor content than peas, common beans, and soybeans. This leads to higher nutrition values and fewer digestive problems in nonruminants. Nonruminant diets can be completed with 200 g/kg of raw chickpeas to promote egg production and growth of birds and pigs. Higher amounts can be used when chickpeas are treated with heat. [32]
Experiments have shown that ruminants grow equally well and produce an equal amount and quality of milk when soybean or cereal meals are replaced with chickpeas. Pigs show the same performance, but growing pigs experience a negative effect of raw chickpea feed; extruded chickpeas can increase performance even in growing pigs. Only young broilers (starting period) showed worse performance in poultry diet experiments with untreated chickpeas. Fish performed equally well when extruded chickpeas replaced their soybean or cereal diet. [32] Chickpea seeds have also been used in rabbit diets. [20]
Country | Production (millions of tonnes) |
---|---|
India | 13.5 |
Turkey | 0.6 |
Russia | 0.5 |
Ethiopia | 0.5 |
Myanmar | 0.4 |
Pakistan | 0.3 |
World | 18.1 |
Source: FAOSTAT of the United Nations [9] |
Secondary components of legumes—such as lecithin, polyphenols, oligosaccharides; and amylase, protease, trypsin and chymotrypsin inhibitors—can lead to lower nutrient availability, and thus to impaired growth and health of animals (especially in nonruminants). Ruminants generally have less trouble digesting legumes with secondary components since they can inactivate them in the rumen liquor. Their diets can be supplemented by 300 g/kg or more raw chickpea seeds. [32] However, protein digestibility and energy availability can be improved through treatments such as germination, dehulling, and heat. Extrusion is a very good heat technique to destroy secondary legume components since the proteins are irreversibly denatured. Overprocessing may decrease the nutritional value; extrusion leads to losses in minerals and vitamins, while dry heating does not change the chemical composition. [32]
In 2022, world production of chickpeas was 18 million tonnes, led by India with 75% of the global total (table). [9]
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Energy | 686 kJ (164 kcal) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
27.42 g | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sugars | 4.8 g | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dietary fibre | 7.6 g | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2.59 g | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Saturated | 0.27 g | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Monounsaturated | 0.58 g | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Polyunsaturated | 1.16 g | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
8.86 g | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Other constituents | Quantity | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Water | 60.21 g | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
†Percentages estimated using US recommendations for adults, [33] except for potassium, which is estimated based on expert recommendation from the National Academies. [34] |
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Energy | 1,581 kJ (378 kcal) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
62.95 g | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sugars | 10.7 g | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dietary fibre | 12.2 g | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
6.04 g | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Saturated | 0.603 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Monounsaturated | 1.377 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Polyunsaturated | 2.731 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
20.5 g | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Other constituents | Quantity | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Water | 7.68 g | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
†Percentages estimated using US recommendations for adults, [33] except for potassium, which is estimated based on expert recommendation from the National Academies. [34] |
Chickpeas are a nutrient-dense food, providing rich content (20% or higher of the Daily Value, DV) of protein, dietary fiber, folate, and certain dietary minerals, such as iron and phosphorus in a 100-gram reference amount (see adjacent nutrition table). Thiamin, vitamin B6, magnesium, and zinc contents are moderate, providing 10–16% of the DV. Compared to reference levels established by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and World Health Organization, proteins in cooked and germinated chickpeas are rich in essential amino acids such as lysine, isoleucine, tryptophan, and total aromatic amino acids. [35]
A 100-gram (3+1⁄2-ounce) reference serving of cooked chickpeas provides 686 kilojoules (164 kilocalories) of food energy. Cooked chickpeas are 60% water, 27% carbohydrates, 9% protein and 3% fat (table). [32] Seventy-five percent of the fat content is unsaturated fatty acids for which linoleic acid comprises 43% of the total fat. [36]
Cooking treatments do not lead to variance in total protein and carbohydrate content. [37] [38] Soaking and cooking of dry seeds possibly induces chemical modification of protein-fibre complexes, which leads to an increase in crude fibre content. Thus, cooking can increase protein quality by inactivating or destroying heat-labile antinutritional factors. [37] Cooking also increases protein digestibility, essential amino acid index, and protein efficiency ratio. Although cooking lowers concentrations of amino acids such as tryptophan, lysine, total aromatic, and sulphur-containing amino acids, their contents are still higher than proposed by the FAO/WHO reference. [37] Raffinose and sucrose and other reducing sugars diffuse from the chickpea into the cooking water and this reduces or completely removes these components from the chickpea. Cooking also significantly reduces fat and mineral content. The B vitamins riboflavin, thiamin, niacin, and pyridoxine dissolve into cooking water at differing rates. [37]
Germination of chickpeas improves protein digestibility, although at a lower level than cooking. Germination degrades proteins to simple peptides, improving crude protein, nonprotein nitrogen, and crude fibre content. Germination decreases lysine, tryptophan, sulphur and total aromatic amino acids, but most contents are still higher than proposed by the FAO/WHO reference pattern. [37]
Oligosaccharides, such as stachyose and raffinose, are reduced in higher amounts during germination than during cooking. Minerals and B vitamins are retained more effectively during germination than with cooking. Phytic acids are reduced significantly, but trypsin inhibitor, tannin, and saponin reduction is less effective than cooking. [37]
In a 2002 study comparing germination and cooking effects on chickpea nutritional values, all treatments of cooking (autoclaving, microwave cooking, boiling) were found to improve protein digestibility. Essential amino acids were slightly increased by boiling and microwave cooking compared to autoclaving and germination. losses in B-vitamins and minerals in chickpeas cooked by microwaving were smaller than in those cooked by boiling and autoclaving. [37]
Chickpeas contain oligosaccharides (raffinose, stachyose, and verbascose) which are indigestible to humans but are fermented in the gut by bacteria, leading to flatulence in susceptible individuals. [39] This can be prevented by skinning the husks from the chickpeas before serving.[ citation needed ]
In some parts of the world, young chickpea leaves are consumed as cooked green vegetables. Especially in malnourished populations, it can supplement important dietary nutrients because regions where chickpeas are consumed have sometimes been found to have populations lacking micronutrients. [40] Chickpea leaves have a significantly higher mineral content than either cabbage leaves or spinach leaves. [40] Environmental factors and nutrient availability could influence mineral concentrations in natural settings. Consumption of chickpea leaves may contribute nutrients to the diet. [40]
The consumption of chickpeas is under preliminary research for the potential to improve nutrition and affect chronic diseases. [38] [41]
Agricultural yield for chickpeas is often based on genetic and phenotypic variability, which has recently been influenced by artificial selection. [42] The uptake of macronutrients such as inorganic phosphorus or nitrogen is vital to the plant development of Cicer arietinum, commonly known as the perennial chickpea. [43] Heat cultivation and macronutrient coupling are two relatively unknown methods used to increase the yield and size of the chickpea. Recent research has indicated that a combination of heat treatment along with the two vital macronutrients, phosphorus and nitrogen, are the most critical components to increasing the overall yield of Cicer arietinum. [43]
Perennial chickpeas are a fundamental source of nutrition in animal feed as they are high-energy and protein sources for livestock. Unlike other food crops, the perennial chickpea can change its nutritional content in response to heat cultivation. Treating the chickpea with a constant heat source increases its protein content almost threefold. [43] Consequently, the impact of heat cultivation affects the protein content of the chickpea itself and the ecosystem it supports. Increasing the height and size of chickpea plants involves using macronutrient fertilization with varying doses of inorganic phosphorus and nitrogen. [44]
The level of phosphorus that a chickpea seed is exposed to during its lifecycle has a positive correlation relative to the height of the plant at full maturity. [44] Increasing the levels of inorganic phosphorus at all doses incrementally increases the height of the chickpea plant. Thus, the seasonal changes in phosphorus soil content, as well as periods of drought that are known to be a native characteristic of the dry Middle-Eastern region where the chickpea is most commonly cultivated, have a strong effect on the growth of the plant itself. Plant yield is also affected by a combination of phosphorus nutrition and water supply, resulting in a 12% increase in crop yield. [44]
Nitrogen nutrition is another factor that affects the yield of Cicer arietinum, although the application differs from other perennial crops regarding the levels administered on the plant. High doses of nitrogen inhibit the yield of the chickpea plant. [45] Drought stress is a likely factor that inhibits nitrogen uptake and subsequent fixation in the roots of Cicer arietinum. The perennial chickpea's growth depends on the balance between nitrogen fixation and assimilation, which is also characteristic of many other agricultural plant types. The influence of drought stress, sowing date, and mineral nitrogen supply affect the plant's yield and size, with trials showing that Cicer arietinum differed from other plant species in its capacity to assimilate mineral nitrogen supply from the soil during drought stress. [45] Additional minerals and micronutrients make the absorption process of nitrogen and phosphorus more available. Inorganic phosphate ions are generally attracted towards charged minerals such as iron and aluminium oxides. [46]
Additionally, growth and yield are also limited by the micronutrients zinc and boron deficiencies in the soil. Boron-rich soil increased chickpea yield and size, while soil fertilization with zinc seemed to have no apparent effect on the chickpea yield. [47]
Pathogens in chickpeas are the main cause of yield loss (up to 90%).[ citation needed ] One example is the fungus Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. ciceris, present in most of the major pulse crop-growing areas and causing regular yield damages between 10 and 15%. [48] Many plant hosts produce heat shock protein 70s including C. arietinum. [49] In response to F. o. ciceris Gupta et al., 2017 finds C. arietinum produces an orthologue of AtHSP70-1, an Arabidopsis HSP70. [49]
From 1978 until 1995, the worldwide number of pathogens increased from 49 to 172, of which 35 were recorded in India. These pathogens originate from groups of bacteria, fungi, viruses, mycoplasma and nematodes and show a high genotypic variation. The most widely distributed pathogens are Ascochyta rabiei (35 countries), Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. ciceris (32 countries) Uromyces ciceris-arietini (25 countries), bean leafroll virus (23 countries), and Macrophomina phaseolina (21 countries). [50] Ascochyta disease emergence is favoured by wet weather; spores are carried to new plants by wind and water splash. [51]
The stagnation of yield improvement over the last decades is linked to the susceptibility to pathogens. [52] Research for yield improvement, such as an attempt to increase yield from 0.8 to 2.0 metric tons per hectare (0.32 to 0.80 long ton/acre; 0.36 to 0.89 short ton/acre) by breeding cold-resistant varieties, is always linked with pathogen-resistance breeding as pathogens such as Ascochyta rabiei and F. o. f.sp. ciceris flourish in conditions such as cold temperature. Research started selecting favourable genes for pathogen resistance and other traits through marker-assisted selection. This method is a promising sign for the future to achieve significant yield improvements. [53]
A bean is the seed of several plants in the family Fabaceae, which are used as vegetables for human or animal food. They can be cooked in many different ways, including boiling, frying, and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes throughout the world.
The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean, which has numerous uses.
Hummus, also spelled hommus or houmous, is a Middle Eastern dip, spread, or savory dish made from cooked, mashed chickpeas blended with tahini, lemon juice, and garlic. The standard garnish in the Middle East includes olive oil, a few whole chickpeas, parsley, and paprika.
The lentil is an edible legume. It is an annual plant known for its lens-shaped seeds. It is about 40 cm (16 in) tall, and the seeds grow in pods, usually with two seeds in each.
Vicia faba, commonly known as the broad bean, fava bean, or faba bean, is a species of vetch, a flowering plant in the pea and bean family Fabaceae. It is widely cultivated as a crop for human consumption, and also as a cover crop. Varieties with smaller, harder seeds that are fed to horses or other animals are called field bean, tic bean or tick bean. Horse bean, Vicia faba var. equinaPers., is a variety recognized as an accepted name. This legume is very common in Southern European, Northern European, East Asian, Latin American and North African cuisines.
Sprouting is the natural process by which seeds or spores germinate and put out shoots, and already established plants produce new leaves or buds, or other structures experience further growth.
Legumes are plants in the family Fabaceae, or the fruit or seeds of such plants. When used as a dry grain for human consumption, the seeds are also called pulses. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consumption, but also as livestock forage and silage, and as soil-enhancing green manure. Well-known legumes include beans, chickpeas, peanuts, lentils, lupins, mesquite, carob, tamarind, alfalfa, and clover. Legumes produce a botanically unique type of fruit – a simple dry fruit that develops from a simple carpel and usually dehisces on two sides.
Cicer is a genus of the legume family, Fabaceae, and the only genus found in tribe Cicereae. It is included within the IRLC, and its native distribution is across the Middle East and Asia. Its best-known and only domesticated member is Cicer arietinum, the chickpea.
A lima bean, also commonly known as butter bean, sieva bean, double bean or Madagascar bean, is a legume grown for its edible seeds or beans.
Vigna subterranea is a member of the family Fabaceae. Its name is derived from the Bambara ethnic group. The plant originated in West Africa. As a food and source of income, the Bambara groundnut is considered to be the third most important leguminous crop in those African countries where it is grown, after peanut and cowpea. The crop is mainly cultivated, sold and processed by women, and is, thus, particularly valuable for female subsistence farmers.
Macrotyloma uniflorum is a legume native to tropical southern Asia, known for its distinct taste and texture, widely used legume in many cuisines. It is also known for human consumption for its rich nutrients and reputed medicinal properties. It is commonly grown for horse feed, hence the name “horse gram”. Horse gram grown in parts of India, as well as Nepal, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and is introduced to the West Indies. It is consumed whole, sprouted, or ground. It is consumed in many parts of India and is also known as a superfood. Horse gram is also allowed to be eaten on some Hindu fasting days. Medical uses of these legumes have been discussed and is described in the Ayurveda.
The winged bean, also known as cigarillas, goa bean, four-angled bean, four-cornered bean, manila bean, princess bean, star bean, kamrangi bean, pea, dragon bean, is a tropical herbaceous legume plant.
Didymella rabiei, commonly called chickpea ascochyta blight fungus, is a fungal plant pathogen of chickpea. Didymella rabiei is the teleomorph of Ascochyta rabiei, which is the anamorph, but both names refer to the same species.
Mesorhizobium mediterraneum is a bacterium from the genus Mesorhizobium, which was isolated from root nodule of the Chickpea in Spain. The species Rhizobium mediterraneum was subsequently transferred to Mesorhizobium mediterraneum. This species, along with many other closely related taxa, have been found to promote production of chickpea and other crops worldwide by forming symbiotic relationships.
Aquafaba is the viscous water in which legume seeds such as chickpeas have been cooked. Its use in cuisine was the discovery of the French musician Joël Roessel.
In Indian cuisine, dal, pappu, or paruppu are dried, split pulses that do not require soaking before cooking. India is the largest producer of pulses in the world. The term is also used for various soups prepared from these pulses. These pulses are among the most important staple foods in South Asian countries, and form an important part of the cuisines of the Indian subcontinent.
Besan or gram flour is a pulse flour made from chana dal or chickpea flour or brown/kaala chana, a chickpea. It is a staple ingredient in the cuisines of the Indian subcontinent, including Indian, Bangladeshi, Burmese, Nepali, Pakistani, Sri Lankan and Caribbean cuisines.
Chickpeas are a major pulse legume grown in Nepal, either by themselves or as an intercrop with maize or rice. Chickpeas are an important legume to the population, as it is the primary protein source for nearly 2 million Nepalese people. In 2013, Nepal imported approximately US$10.1 million in dried shelled chickpeas, mostly from Australia and also from Canada, creating a need to increase production for its own people and to balance bilateral trade. Chickpeas are an excellent source of protein, especially when compared to other legume pulses. They are high in unsaturated fatty acids and minerals, including calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and potassium.
The Future 50 Foods report, subtitled "50 foods for healthier people and a healthier planet", was published in February 2019 by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and Knorr. It identifies 50 plant-based foods that can increase dietary nutritional value and reduce environmental impacts of the food supply, promoting sustainable global food systems.