Chickpea

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] garbanzo[5] or garbanzo bean, or Egyptian pea.[4] Chickpea seeds are high in protein. It is one of the earliest cultivated legumes, and 7500-year-old remains have been found in the Middle East.[6][7]

Chickpea is a key ingredient in hummus and chana masala, and it can be ground into a flour to make falafel. It is also used in salads, soups and stews, curry and other meal products like channa. The chickpea is important in Indian, Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisine. In 2018, India accounted for 66% of global chickpea production.[8]

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.[9] 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.[10]