Healthy chickpeas. Big, tasty, oriental

Life is sometimes unfair. The chickpea comes with everything you would expect from a food: it is delicious, healthy, even medicinal and easy to grow because it uses little water and collects its nitrogen fertilizer from the air - like all legumes. And people can not think of anything better than dismissing the chickpea as "poor people's food.".

Even with the naming one has given little effort. Because the "Kicher" in the name has nothing to do with happiness and good humor, but comes from the Latin "Cicer", which simply means "pea". Strictly speaking, we call the chickpea "Erbseerbse". We would have had enough time to find a more worthy name. After all, the chickpea has been accompanying humans for an estimated 8 to 10,000 years, at least in the Middle East, where the oldest evidence of cultivation was found. This is why she still plays the biggest role in the kitchen and prepares delicacies such as hummus, falafel or the pastry Schimitt. In India, where the chickpea is also very popular, even the young plants are eaten as a salad.

Health on the plate: chickpeas. Image: Martin Rettenberger - fotolia

The Germans, on the other hand, did not really like the taste until the end of the last century, when the first Turkish and Oriental pubs offered dishes with chickpeas. The fact that the chickpea struggles here for a long time also has to do with the fact that the plant does not particularly appreciate the harsh Central European climate and rather prefers warm, dry regions. Nevertheless, it was known here already in the Middle Ages, Hildegard von Bingen praised it as a pleasant food and remedy for fever. In antiquity, one even started from other healing powers and used them among other things for fever, toothache and as an aphrodisiac. The alleged love-enhancing power was probably more based on the fact that the Romans worshiped the chickpea as a sexual symbol and considered the love goddess Venus consecrated. Hence her long common name "Venuskicher".

At the end of the 19th century, a somewhat unfortunate attempt was made in southern German vineyards to help the chickpea break through. They made a special variety to make coffee surrogate, which certainly did not do the pea's reputation well.

There are good reasons to enjoy the chickpea without much detours. Because it contains no fat, but 20 percent high-quality protein, various vitamins and plenty of minerals, including larger amounts of iron, which makes them interesting for vegetarians or vegans. However, raw chickpeas must be soaked for at least twelve hours before being consumed and boiled for thirty minutes to destroy the contained poison phasin and the bitter substance sapin. Who the chickpea during the subsequent enjoyment as a puree, fried, roasted or as salad side dish still referred to as "poor people food", is your own fault. (Jürgen Beckhoff, aid)