Most, if not all moms would be with me on this: getting kids to eat vegetables might even be harder than giving birth. Ok, that might be a bit of an exaggeration. Vegetables do not have to taste bland or bitter – there are so many ways you can cook them! Do you wish to get your kids to voluntarily eat veggies? These 5 chickpea recipes might do the trick!
These recipes are created, tried and tested by Ms Ambaree Majumder, who is on a plant-based diet together with her kids. Read more about her story of raising her kids healthy and vegan here. Follow her on Facebook at Vegan Keno.
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1. Hummus
Hummus is a regular in my house. Ahaana, 7, likes to use it as a dip and a spread with almost anything. Aarish, 1.5, is still not sure what to feel about the texture of something so smooth. I am hopeful that soon he will be interested in it because hummus is a great source of protein and good fats along with vitamins and minerals that are paramount to the optimal growth of children.
The best part about making hummus lies in its versatility. Depending upon how you like it, change the recipe. Ahaana is not a great fan of anything too spicy. But she enjoys the flavours of coriander and cumin. I am quite liberal in adding that. Sometimes she likes it lemony so I add an extra squeeze and sometimes not.
Hummus
Equipment
- Pressure cooker
- Mortar and pestle
- Blender
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups dried chickpea soak overnight or at least for 12 hours
- 3 cloves Garlic
- a pinch Baking Soda
- Juice of 1 lemon add more if needed
- Salt to taste
- 2 tbsp Tahini
- 2 tsp Cumin seeds
- 1 tsp Coriander seeds
- 1 tsp Paprika
Instructions
- Drain the soaked chickpeas. Rinse.
- Cook the chickpeas with about 3 cups of water, garlic and baking soda in a pressure cooker.
Prepare the spice
- Dry roast the whole seeds till fragrant
- Grind them roughly using a mortar and pestle
- Add all the ingredients in a blender. Use the excess chickpea water to get silky smooth hummus
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2. Falafel
Falafels are easy and quick snack options. Most of the work is done by the blender so it’s a goto recipe at times when I am confused about what to get the children to eat.
Ahaana enjoys falafels inside a pita bread. She is very happy to add lettuce and some hummus and ketchup along with her falafels and make a pita pocket out of it. Aarish has officially not been introduced to store bought bread yet. So he just eats falafels with rice and sometimes just plain.
Falafel
Equipment
- Pressure cooker
- Blender/Food Processor
- Oven
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried chickpea soaked overnight or at least 8 hours
- 4 cloves garlic peeled (add more if you like the garlic flavour)
- 3 tablespoons raw cashews
- 3/4 cup fresh parsely
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 2 teaspoon cumin powder
- salt to taste
- 4 to 6 tablespoons all purpose flour more if required for kneeding
- Cooking oil for brushing
Instructions
- Cook the chickpeas with the garlic in about 2.5 cups of water in a pressure cooker. Do not discard any excess water. Use it while kneading if needed.
- Preheat the oven at 220 degrees.
- Pick the boiled garlic cloves out of the pressure cooker. Add them to a blender/food processor along with the cashews and pulse for sometime. Do not blend them up, you just want them chopped.
- Now, add the chickpeas, parsley, cumin seeds and powder and salt and pulse a few more times, scraping the sides as needed until combined. Pulse more if you like a smooth texture, less for crumbly.
- Pour the chickpea mixture into a big mixing bowl.
- Get your hands to work now. Add the flour to the chickpea mixture bit by bit to achieve a dough like consistency. If it is too sticky then add more flour. If it gets dry, then add the excess chickpea water.
- Knead the mixture for 2 minutes or so.
- Scoop out about 2 tablespoons at a time and shape into a ball, then slightly flatten into a disc.
- Lubricate your palms with cooking oil if needed.
- Brush some oil on top of the falafels and pop them into the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Then flip them over and let cook for another 10 minutes or till they are light brown.
Notes
3. Chickpea Veggie Burger
This is the recipe which I use when I cannot decide which veggies to cook for the kids. Reason being, it can be prepared with almost all kinds of veggies.
For veggies that are hard, I steam them a little. The softer veggies like zucchini are perfect when grated.
Chickpea Veggie Burger
Equipment
- Food processor/Blender
- Skillet
Ingredients
- 1 cup cooked chickpea
- ½ cup steamed beetroot/sweet potato/yam
- ½ cup chopped coriander leaves
- ¼ cup chopped red onions
- ½ cup grated zucchini add more if needed
- Juice of half a lemon
- Salt to taste
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 cup oat flour add more if needed
- Oil for shaping burgers and later shallow frying
Instructions
- Use a food processor to mash the chickpea and steam vegetable.
- Add the rest of the ingredients into the blender and make a dough.
- Pour the dough into a big mixing bowl and add as much oat flour is needed to bring a consistency that is apt for shaping it into burgers. Grease hands with oil if too sticky.
- Heat a thick bottomed skillet. Drizzle oil. When the oil is hot, shallow fry the burgers on both sides till golden brown.
4. Chickpea Bell Pepper Pasta
Sometimes when I have the time for it, I make this pasta sauce for the kids. It is easy to store in the freezer for a month or so.
Chickpea Bell Pepper Pasta
Equipment
- Blender/Food Processor
- Skillet
Ingredients
- 170 g pasta of choice
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1/2 yellow or white onion chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1/8 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/8 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/8 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 roasted red bell pepper finely chopped
- freshly-squeezed lemon juice for serving
- 1.5 cups cooked chickpeas
- Juice of half a lemon or more if you like it tangy
- fresh basil
Instructions
- To roast bell peppers, preheat oven to 220 degrees, place slightly oiled bell peppers in the oven on a baking tray for 15 minutes on each side
- Cook the pasta in water as instructed on the package.
- Blend the bell pepper and chickpea in a food processor. Keep it as smooth or crumbly as you like. Set aside.
- Heat oil in a skillet.
- Fry the onion and garlic.
- Add salt, paprika, black pepper and oregano. Mix well.
- Add the chickpea and bell pepper mixture, tomato paste and mix well.
- Cook on a high flame for a minute or 2.
- Add the cooked pasta into the sauce.
- Sprinkle some basil leaves if you like!
5. Chickpea Blondies
I love making desserts because I have a sweet tooth myself. Ahaana doesn’t like sweets much and Aarish’s taste buds are still immature so I do not like to offer him anything too sweet.
Blondies are brownies but without chocolate. If there is anyone in the family who doesn’t like chocolate (yes, such people exist) then this is a great treat for them.
Chickpea Blondies
Equipment
- Oven
- Blender/Food Processor
Ingredients
- 1 cup cooked chickpeas
- ½ cup nut/seed butter I use cashew butter
- ¼ cup old fashioned rolled oats
- ¼ cup oat flour
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- ¼ cup coconut sugar
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ⅛ tsp salt
- A few spoonfuls of any plant milk if needed
- A handful of chopped walnuts optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200 degrees centigrade.
- Ready an 8×8 inch baking dish with baking paper.
- Remove the skin of the chickpeas. This ensures that the texture of the blondies is smooth. The easiest way to do it is to add some baking soda in water while boiling the chickpeas.
- Once boiled and cooled, take a handful of the chickpea and rub them between your palms. The skins will come off. Then wash the chickpea away under running water. It's alright if you cannot remove all of the skin.
- Add all the ingredients in a food processor except the walnuts.
- Blend till you get a cake like consistency. If it looks dry then add some plant milks till you get the desired consistency.
- Pour the mix into the readied dish. With a spatula, flatten the top and sprinkle the chopped walnuts over the cake.
- Bake for 20 minutes.