How to presoak Garbanzo beans (Chickpeas)?

You can also presoak red kidney beans (Rajma) and black Matpe  (Urad) using the same technique.

Why presoak garbanzo beans?

1. When the beans are presoaked in water, the complex sugars responsible flatulence leach out in water. The water is discarded, reducing the flatulence when cooked.

2. The water reaches the inside of the bean, increasing the conductivity for uniform cooking, as well as reducing the cooking time.

3. The Phytates leach out in the water and discarded with pre-soak water. This makes the minerals to be more bio-available.

Presoaking

Traditionally, the Garbanzo beans are soaked over night. The presoak water is thrown away in the morning, the beans are rinsed and the cooked in new water.

You may add a grated fresh ginger to the presoak water. This will add to the flavor of beans specially when making Cholay. The enzymes will also reduce the flatulence. If you add ginger, the ginger should be discarded with the pre-soak water.

If you don't want to soak overnight, you can get comparable results by putting the beans in a pot of water, let it come to a boil, shut off the heat, cover the pot with a lid and let it stand for one to two hours.

Myth

Add baking soda to presoak water, it helps beans to cook faster and more tender... Not True

In reality, the baking soda gives after taste to the recipe.

Add salt to presoak water, it adds flavor to the beans... Partially True

Salt hinders with the hydration of beans. Salt should be added when the beans are almost fully cooked.