# Spicy black chickpeas



## sarah (Jul 23, 2008)

well this is a fabulous dish,ideal for potlucks,but equally good as a light summertime salad.this can be made with regular white chickpeas,its just i prefer black chickpeas,they r richer,creamier and yummier in taste.

 i soaked 2 cups of chickpeas over night,boiled and drained them the next day,let them cool a little bit.put in one cup of tamarind juice,juice of 3 large lemons,2 large diced tomatoes,3 large boiled and diced potatoes,2 medium diced onions(that i tossed for half a minute in a non stick skillet without any oil,on high flame,to loose the bitterness and smell of raw onion,but they should still be crunchy),2,3 chopped green chilis,half a teaspoon of toasted cumin seeds,salt and pepper to taste.


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## elaine l (Jul 23, 2008)

That sounds delicious.  I love chickpeas and anything with them.  Here is the silly question, what is tamarind juice?  And where would I find it?  Thanks.


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## sarah (Jul 23, 2008)

its not a silly question elaine as tamarind maybe unknown to most americans,as its not usually used in american cooking.its a common ingredient of pakistani cooking.its very sour in taste,and mostly available in dried form in pakistani or indian stores.just soak some of it in hot water,and when the water cools down a little bit,mash it thoroughly with fingers or fork,and then strain the juice and use it anyway u like.it makes very yummy sour and sweet tamarind sauce that can be put in many foods.if u dont find it easily,then u can just do with lemon juice and a little bit of white vinegar.


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## Callisto in NC (Jul 23, 2008)

Where does one find black chickpeas.  I've only ever seen white.


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## JillBurgh (Jul 23, 2008)

Sounds delicious, thanks for sharing. I can't wait to try black chickpeas. This blog post explains them nicely: Food, In The Main...: Kala chana (black chickpeas)
I guess you'll have better luck finding them if you look for Kala Chana. Too bad they're not really black.. that would make some snazzy hummus!


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## sarah (Jul 24, 2008)

Callisto in NC said:


> Where does one find black chickpeas.  I've only ever seen white.



 they should be available in pakistani or indian stores or in the ethnic sections of other stores.And like i said,if u still cant find them,you can always use the regular white chickpeas!


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## Callisto in NC (Jul 24, 2008)

sarah said:


> they should be available in pakistani or indian stores or in the ethnic sections of other stores.And like i said,if u still cant find them,you can always use the regular white chickpeas!


I'm lucky after 4 years here we finally have a mexican specialty store.  I could check Harris Teeter or maybe Trader Joes but we definitely don't have anything as fancy as an Indian store.  I wish, but it won't happen.


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