Chickpea

The chickpea, garbanzo bean or bengal gram (Cicer arietinum) is an edible pulse of the Leguminosae or Fabaceae family, subfamily Faboideae or Papilionoideae. The plant can also be used as a green vegetable.

Several dozen distinct chickpea varieties are cultivated. European varieties are large (typically around 15 mm diameter) and grey; Asian varieties are smaller (typically 5-8 mm) and dark brown in color.

Chickpeas can be eaten raw in salads, cooked in stews or ground into a paste called hummus.