Chickpeas and Other Pulses

When you go out drinking of an evening anywhere in Turkey, you’re likely to be given a bowl of what you think are salty nuts. They are more likely to be leblebi (toasted chickpeas), bought from nut shops that cook them all day in giant leblebi roasters. Chickpeas, now used to bulk out countless casseroles, were first cultivated in Anatolia more than 8000 years ago. In the fifteenth century, a vizier working for the sultan in the Topkapı Palace became famous for surprising his guests by hiding a golden chickpea in one of the dishes in every banquet.