The long long process of boiling dried chickpeas

Let me start of by saying that in order to boil dried chickpeas yourself, you only need three ingredients: dried chickpeas, water and patience. A lot of it.

The Dried Chickpeas 

I decided to boil chickpeas myself because of the preservatives (containing gluten) that a lot of canned goods contain. Well, it all started with me buying a bag of dried chickpeas and looking on the internet for tips on how to boil them. I read that you have to soak the chickpeas in water for a whole night and then boil them in water the next day for only an hour. NOT IN MY CASE! It took me about 10 hours of boiling the chickpeas before they were ready. A little bit longer than I expected..

After a Night of Soaking

The Boiling Begins...

I began boiling the chickpeas and made sure that the water added is at double the level of the chickpeas. I brought the water to a boil, lowered the heat and let it simmer for an hour. After an hour, the chickpeas were still as hard as ever.. Another hour passed by... followed by another one... until four hours had passed and I needed to go somewhere. I decided to turn of the heat and continue when I returned. I ended up boiling the chickpeas until midnight and they were still not ready!!! What was I doing wrong?! But the lady on the internet said it would only take an hour?! Lies. Don't trust them. So I went to bed. I was frustrated because it wasn't ending up the way I hoped. My goal was to have at least one chickpea recipe finished in the afternoon.

I hoped to have better luck in the morning. I went for a different approach.. I took out the high pressure cooker:

The Chickpea Saver!!

A high pressure cooker allows you to cook above a 100 degrees (yes, I am talking in Celsius) because it is air tight? I am not a scientist or genius in that field but I think that is the correct explanation. This would hopefully speed up the cooking process. AND IT WORKED!! I was so excited. Within an hour the chickpeas were cooked and ready to be used! Ah, I didn't know anyone could be so excited about a bunch of chickpeas until this moment today. I had a little victory dance going on in the kitchen.

The Chickpeas are Ready for Cooking :)

I am thinking that maybe I did not soak the chickpeas for long enough. Maybe it needs to be for 24 hours or so. Next time I will definitely soak them longer. Oh, and immediately turn to the high pressure cooker.

Conclusion: if you want to cook your own chickpeas, clear your schedule for the day and bring your A-game in terms of patience.