Chickpea Fries = Chickpea Flour + Water, heated until thick
A few months ago, I bought some chickpea flour, mistakenly thinking it was the type of flour I needed to make Indian breads (it’s actually chapati flour that is used to make them). So what do you do with chickpea flour? The back of the bag had a recipe for hummus, but I still left it untouched for weeks. (Honestly, I couldn’t see a reason to make hummus with chickpea flour instead of real chickpeas.)
But I can’t just leave an unused bag of flour on my shelf for long. When I started researching recipes, I discovered that Mark Bittman is a fan of chickpea flour, so much so that chickpea fries, made only with chickpea flour and water, were his “new favorite thing” in 2008.
Because the recipe couldn’t be easier – cook chickpea flour and water in a ratio of 2:1 until thick but not dry, spread in a pan, refrigerate for an hour, cut into shapes, and fry – and because chickpea flour has such high protein, I was prepared to love this recipe. I thought I would be making chickpea fries all the time, for lunch, for dinner, for a late night snack.
To make chickpea fries, spread the "dough" in a pan and refrigerate (See the holes in the dough? Not good. You may want to use a smaller pan.)
So of course I was disappointed when I discovered that, once fried, they tasted just like their main ingredient – heavy, thick flour with a crispy outer crust. But then again, my fries did not look like Mark Bittman’s. Instead, they stuck to a pan and only got partially crispy. (If you make them yourself, make sure you use enough oil for frying.)
Use plenty of oil or your chickpea fries will stick to the pan like this
I got so frustrated with frying the fries on my slanted stove that eventually I gathered the uncooked fries together in a ball, smushed it down with some flour, and fried a chickpea patty instead.
If your chickpea fries aren't working out, smash the dough together to make a patty and fry it up
But Kenny loved them. And I did have four or five bites, which I wouldn’t do if I didn’t think the fries had some redeeming qualities (like the crispy outer shell). But next time, I might try a different chickpea flour recipe like Mark Bittman’s tortillas or socca, a skillet flatbread.
Have you ever worked with chickpea flour? What recipes do you recommend?
[...] I left out the dried cherries and doubled the chocolate chips. I also usually use whole-wheat pastry flour, but, because I didn’t have the 5 cups required, I used a combination of 3 cups whole-wheat pastry flour to 2 cups chickpea flour. The chickpea flour made the dough taste like beans, but that flavor disappeared after the biscotti were baked. (Yea, I’ve found a use for chickpea flour!) [...]
[...] I left out the dried cherries and doubled the chocolate chips. Also, to make them more breakfasty, I used whole wheat pastry flour and the high-protein chickpea flour. Because I double the Baking Bites’ recipe, that means 3 cups whole-wheat pastry flour to 2 cups chickpea flour. The chickpea flour made the dough taste like beans, but that flavor disappeared after the biscotti were baked. (Yea, I’ve found a use for chickpea flour!) [...]
From a Chickpea Fry lover,
The simplicity of a chickpea fry, traditionally called Panisses, is what makes them amazing because the possibilities for experimentation. Mix 1 teaspoon of curry into the slurry before the cooling stage, then serve with mixed summer greens lightly tossed in olive oil all as a vegan pita sandwich. Make them as is and serve with a dipping sauce (Chipotle Mayo, Roasted Red Pepper Salsa, Garlic Aioli, Pesto Aioli). Before cooling, separate into three batches and blend in purred vegetables like carrots, parsnips, broccoli, radishes, or beets, then add medium-grind cornstarch to readjust to original consistency. If your budget happens to be sky-high, add 3/4 teaspoon of truffle oil to the whole mixture.
Also, pan frying is the hardest of three methods for cooking these potato fry alternatives. The easiest is deep-frying but the average house-hold doesn’t have the hardware for required for that. Grilling is a good method especially for summertime cooking but would recommend definitely serving with a dipping sauce because they don’t have the same moistness achieved when fried. Thirdly, pan-frying, isn’t necessarily complicated but is probably the least consistent. You need to make sure you have at least 1/2 inch of oil (i prefer peanut oil) in the pan and have to fry one side at a time.
I hope you don’t give up on these delectable little treats and find some use out of all this.
-Happy Cooking
Ian B.: Thanks so much for the ideas! I’m glad to hear you have had such good experiences with chickpea fries because I really wanted to love them. But I’m also quite sure I didn’t use enough oil when I tried to pan fry them. I think a dipping sauce may have helped too, so I like the idea of serving them with aioli. I’ll try grilling them next time to see how they turn out.
hi just arrived here from a google search… i am sorry you had so much trouble with chickpea flour. chickpea flour is called besan in india and is used in a variety of ways. its used to make desserts, pancakes (make a pancake batter of chickpea flour + water + add chopped spring onions + chillies + salt + chopped cilantro – spread it on an oiled skillet, flip and cook until done thats until brown spots appear- its yummy), slice eggplant, potatoes, onions, cauliflower and dip into chikpea batter and deep fry for some vegetable fritters called pakoda (savoury), fried dumplings of chickpeas drowning in a bowl of hot yoghurt sauce served on a hot bed of steamed rice (kadhi chawal)! there are number of ways to eat this. hope you will try it out and see.
@Rajani: The pancakes sound delicious! I would like to try chickpea flour again. The fries didn’t work for me, but I l love these other ideas. Thank you!
Here’s a great blog about chick pea fries, and the author has written a book about chocolate!
http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2008/07/panisses-1/
@Jen: David Lebovitz is great. Thanks for the link!