Black Kabouli Garbanzo Beans

This year was to be a bit of an adventure in the garden so I added to the seed collection by purchasing a series of unique items.  One such item was the Black Kabouli Garbanzo bean.  Now, I'm a relatively adventurous eater and really love international cuisine but the truth is I had no idea what on earth I was going to do with these beans once harvested.  They're still growing in the garden so thankfully, I do have a bit of time before I have to make a decision but at this point, I may be limited to some black hummus...and I'm not sure how that's going to come across at the dinner table.

Black Kabouli garbanzo seedlings before transplanting

These beans are said to have been cultivated near the fertile crescent over 6,000 years ago around.  This heirloom is brought to us from Afghanistan (by way of Seeds of Change for me).  They're noted as very drought tolerant plants and thus far have proven to be quite vigorous growers.  As with other garbanzos, these beans are high in protein.

The black seeds look almost like withered rocks.  Garbanzo beans, chickpeas and Egyptian peas are all the same.  They're said to range in a variety of colors from black, green, red and brown.  When doing a bit of research I was struck by the amount of nutrition packed inside of these little interesting legumes - rich with manganese, folate, fiber, tryptopha, protein, calcium, phosphorous and iron.

Are they one of the oldest cultivated beans?  Possibly as they were originally cultivated in the middle east but are now readily available in India and Ethiopia.


Plant Profile:  Black Kabouli Bean
Type:  Bush
Days to Maturity:  105
Preference:  Dry
Level of Difficulty:  Very Easy
Characteristics:  Clearly these plants are not fussy but probably would prefer dry soil.
Taste:  ?