White Chickpeas

The Chickpea or Chick Pea (Cicer arietinum) is an annual legume of the family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae. Its different types are variously known as gram or Bengal gram, garbanzo or garbanzo bean, Egyptian pea, chana, and chole. 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.

Chickpeas are a nutrient-dense food, providing rich content (20% or higher of the Daily Value, DV) of protein, dietary fiber, folate, and certain dietary minerals, such as iron and phosphorus in a 100-gram reference amount (see adjacent nutrition table). Thiamin, vitamin B6, magnesium, and zinc contents are moderate, providing 10–16% of the DV. Compared to reference levels established by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and World Health Organization, proteins in cooked and germinated chickpeas are rich in essential amino acids such as lysine, isoleucine, tryptophan, and total aromatic amino acids.

A 100 g serving of cooked chickpeas provides 164 kilocalories (690 kJ). Cooked chickpeas are 60% water, 27% carbohydrates, 9% protein, and 3% fat (table).[24] 75% of the fat content is unsaturated fatty acids for which linoleic acid comprises 43% of total fat.