Baharat Roasted Chickpeas
Roasted chickpeas are the crunchy snack of Middle Eastern kitchens, sold warm from carts and eaten by the handful. Baharat, the warm all-purpose Levantine blend of black pepper, allspice, cinnamon, and cumin, gives them a savory, faintly sweet coating, and a little sumac adds the tartness that makes them hard to stop eating. Roasting them dry, with no oil, works as long as you dry the chickpeas well first and roast them long enough to crisp through. Use a homemade, unsalted baharat so the snack stays saltless. They keep a few days in a jar but are best the day they are made.
Ingredients
- 3 cups Chickpeas, cooked, drained, patted very dry
- 2 tsp Baharat, unsalted, homemade
- 1 tsp Sumac
- 1/4 tsp Cayenne
- 1 tsp Lemons, zest only
Method
- Spread the chickpeas on a towel and roll them around to dry them thoroughly, rubbing off any loose skins. Surface water is the enemy of crunch, since it steams the chickpeas instead of letting them crisp, so this drying step matters more than any other.
- Roast on a bare tray at 400 F (200 C) for 35 to 40 minutes, shaking the pan two or three times, until they are golden, rattle when shaken, and are crisp all the way through. With no oil they crisp on their own dry heat, so give them the full time.
- Toss the hot chickpeas with the baharat, sumac, cayenne, and lemon zest. Add the spices off the heat so they do not scorch, and toss while the chickpeas are hot so the powder clings to their rough surface.
- Cool completely before storing in a jar. Sealed while warm they trap steam and go soft, so let them come fully to room temperature first.
Nutrition
Estimated per serving: 160 calories, 8 g protein, 7 g fiber, 20 mg sodium. Computed from USDA FoodData Central reference values for the main ingredients. This is an approximation, not a laboratory measurement. How these are computed.
Cost per serving is estimated from US national-average retail prices for cheap staple forms, using BLS dried-bean prices and USDA produce prices. Prices vary by store and season, so treat it as a guide, not a receipt. How this is computed.
