Chickpea (Cicer arietinum), which is an edible legume, belongs to the family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae. It is also called garbanzo bean, Indian pea, ceci bean, bengal gram and Kabuli chana. It is high in protein and is one of the earliest cultivated vegetables. Chickpea remains that are 7500-year-old have been found in the Middle East [http://www.forward.com/articles/2119/].

The chickpea plant, when fully grown, is between 20 and 50 cm high (Fig. 1). Typically, one pod contains one or two peas (Fig. 2). Chickpea flowers are mainly white with streaks of blue, violet or pink. Chickpea crop requires a subtropical or tropical climate with more than 40 cm (or 16 inches) of annual rainfall. It is possible to grow chickpea in a temperate climate; however, yields are much lower than those obtainable in subtropical or tropical climate [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chickpea].

There are two types of chickpea:

• Desi, which is smaller and has rough, dark brown husk (Fig. 3a) and is mainly grown in the Indian subcontinent, Ethiopia, Mexico and Iran; and


• Kabuli, which is larger and has smooth, light brown or beige husk (Fig. 3b) and is mainly grown in Southern Europe, Northern Africa, Afghanistan, Chile and the Indian subcontinent.

Fig. 1: The Chickpea Plant [Source: http://journeysongs.blogspot.com/2007_08_01_archive.html]	Fig. 2: Chickpea pods [Source: http://www.dspdirect.ca/]
	Fig. 3a: Desi Chickpea [Source: http://www.dspdirect.ca/]	Fig. 3b: Kabuli Chickpea [Source: http://www.fillmoreseeds.com/]

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