CRISPY CHICKPEAS

As evening sneaks up and you want a spicy salty snack, skip the deep fried and make a stock of crispy chickpeas. It’s crispy, crunncy and perfectly spiced and it stays crunchy too !!!

Tip 1 :

The main challenge in making roasted chickpeas at home is making sure they stay crispy. If you don’t bake them long enough, you’ll end up with soggy chickpeas a day later. To make chickpeas stay crispy, you’ve got to bake them long enough.

You can cut the bake time if you are going to consume them right out of the oven.

Because ovens can vary, the first time, just make sure to keep an eye on the oven towards the end of the cooking time: they can change quickly from browned to burnt !!

Tip 2

Another tip for making crispy roasted chickpeas is to remove some of the skins before baking. The chickpea skin also retains moisture. However, you don’t have to remove bit, so don’t spend too much time on this. Here’s how to remove the chickpea skins:

• Drain and rinse the chickpeas
• Dry them with a towel to remove as much moisture as possible. (This is also key to making totally crispy chickpeas.)
• Then place another towel on top of the chickpeas and rub them with your hands to loosen the skins. Do this a few times: it should only take a few minutes — and you don’t need to worry about getting all of them!

Tip 3

Boil the chickpeas, drain and transfer to a towel to remove as much moisture as possible.

Ingredients

• 3 cups of cooked chickpeas
• 2 tablespoons olive oil or ghee
• 1 ½ teaspoons chili powder (optional)
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon cumin powder
• ¾ teaspoon salt

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C.
2. Rinse and drain the chickpeas, shaking off as much water as possible.
3. Place them on a towel and pat gently to dry. Place another towel on top, then use your hands to rub the chickpeas and remove as many of the chickpea skins as possible. Do this once or twice; it should only take a few minutes and it’s not necessary to remove all of the skins.
4. In a small bowl, mix the chickpeas with the olive oil (ghee), chili powder, black pepper, cumin, smoked paprika, and salt.
5. Place the chickpeas on a lined baking sheet and spread them out into a single layer. Avoid overcrowding
6. Bake for about 45 to 60 minutes until crispy and dry, shaking the pan every 15 minutes.
7. The exact bake time depends on your oven, so watch closely in the final minutes, taste test, and remove when the chickpeas are browned but before they become very dark and hard.
8. Allow it to cool for about 10 minutes before storing; the chickpeas will crisp up even more as they cool.
9. Allow to cool completely and store in an airtight container