Chickpea

Chickpea, or garbanzo bean (Cicer arietinum), bushy annual legume cultivated from antiquity in southern Europe, India, and the Middle East, and grown for its edible seeds. The chickpea plant grows to 10–2 ft (30–60 cm) and bears rectangular pods containing 1 or 2 3/8 in (9.5 mm), seeds, which may be white, light yellow, red, brown, or near-black. The chickpea is a good source of protein and carbohydrates.