- I am here in India. And in India, chickpeas,
the theme of the episode, are quite popular. One of my favorite dishes
is chana tikki chaat. It's mashed chickpeas and potato mixed with a bunch of spices, formed into small patties that are fried, and then you top them with
yogurt, tamarind, green chutney, onions, and a bit of coriander. This is a common street food,
something you eat as a snack, but luckily my mom made it for me at home. Yum. They're soft with a little bit of crunch. You can really taste the chickpeas. All the sauces on it are so good. The thing is around the
world there are tons of amazing chickpea recipes
that I have never even heard of. So today we're looking at
five different chickpea dishes from five countries to see how versatile this one ingredient really is. I'm just going to eat
the rest of this plate. I'm not gonna share. And I'd like to thank Rosetta
Stone for partnering with me for today's episode, because while I'm in India,
it has been very helpful. A lot of my time here is spent like this. (background speaking in foreign language) (speaking in foreign language) Thank you. The thing is, my listening
comprehension is pretty good, but what I struggle with is
saying any word out loud. I find it to be terrifying. So one of the things that
I've been doing out here is using Rosetta Stone to
practice speaking out loud. (speaking foreign language) One of my favorite things about the app is that there are tons
of lessons for all sorts of different language levels. And they cover a lot of colloquialisms, so you're actually learning things that are helpful in the real world. They use a type of visual learning so it's not just a bunch of flashcards. You're hearing voices spoken to you and you are speaking back
to them through the app. The app even helps you
with your pronunciation. (speaking foreign language) (phone chimes) (speaking foreign language) (phone chimes) Getting better. Since I'm traveling and don't
always have access to wifi, I'm able to download the lessons so that I can still
practice when I'm offline. The lessons are short as 10 minutes, so they don't require a huge
investment of your time. Rosetta Stone has over
25 different languages to choose from. I of course, am learning Hindi. Right now through December 4th, Rosetta Stone is doing a 60% off sale on their lifetime subscription, so it's only $149 to learn any language for the rest of your life, which I think is a really great deal. And it definitely comes in
handy when you're at a party and something like this happens. Oh, thank you uncle. (speaking foreign language) You won't be as scared next time. Mm, they are tasty. Check the link in my description and download Rosetta Stone there. (gentle music) - Hi Beryl, I'm Annesha,
I'm from Trinidad and Tobago and the dish I wanna share with
you today is called doubles. Doubles is our most popular street food in Trinidad and Tobago. It is made with two
soft, delicious, pillowy, flattened and fried doughs called bara, and topped with chana or chickpea. Chana is boiled down with seasonings and it's super delicious, and the texture is
really silky and smooth. Usually the doubles is topped with different sauces or condiments. Doubles gets its name
because it's typically eaten with two baras, hence doubles. - I think I added too much water. It's like really wet and
it said don't over knead. Ugh! Okay, what happened? I didn't half the water. Beryl! Beryl! - [Annesha] I love doubles
because it's very convenient and very delicious. And the chickpea is savory, and the sauces adds an
additional depth of flavor and texture like sweet, spicy and crunchy. - I think I'm gonna call this it like, it's not sticking as much. I added a little bit more flour, so we're gonna let this rest. Pray for the dough. - [Annesha] Doubles is one
of the most popular dishes in Trinidad and Tobago. You could find a doubles
vendor on any corner. I have many memories with doubles, from my brother going to pick up doubles for the entire family on a Sunday, to after a night out with friends getting doubles before we go home. The seasonings, spices used, and the silky texture of the
chickpea really allows it to shine as an ingredient in this dish. You can get a cup of chana
boiled and seasoned on its own. - Mm! - [Annesha] We often add chickpea our soup and you can even eat it as a snack, fried and seasoned. - I haven't peaked so. Oh, thank God. She has risen. Okay! Let's make some bara. - [Annesha] I don't remember who first introduced me to doubles, as it is such a popular
food in our country. Usually kids will have their first doubles before they even learn to talk. The way you eat doubles
is by assembling it like an open face sandwich. You put the bara down,
then you put the chana, or chickpea down, and the
different condiments and toppings. You actually eat it by
picking it up like a taco and making sure to get some
of the condiments and sauces. - It cooks so fast. Amazing. - [Annesha] Doubles is
typically eaten for breakfast, but it is also very popular
for dinner or lunch. We have a large population of East Indians in Trinidad and Tobago whose forefathers came to Trinidad and Tobago
as indentured laborers. Since then, the food has kept
some of its Indian influences, but has also reflected
our Caribbean identity by incorporating local
seasonings and spices, making it a dish that is truly
unique to Trinidad and Tobago and enjoyed by all. People should try doubles
because it is delicious, it is convenient. I hope that you enjoy and
one day come to Trinidad to try it here. - With a little bit of drama, we've made it to the best
part of the cooking process. Like, oh, it looks delicious. (gentle music) Literally 10 out of 10. At this point I think that I'm
allowed to toot my own horn. The dough was rescued. Ugh! Oh my god, this is so sticky. What is going on? I feel so amateur right now. It shouldn't stick that much. It is soft. There's like a slight sweetness to it. The color is beautiful. It's chewy when you bite into
it and it's just amazing. If you're looking at this recipe and you're like, "yeah, that looks great. It looks too hard." I'm telling you it's really not. Like, just pay attention
to your measurements and I think like you would
very easily find success, and it's a totally delicious dish, and it's very different. And I love that it's a
breakfast, and also a sandwich, and kind of like a taco. The chickpeas in this are really good. Like they're spiced, and I think just combined with this bread, it's a fabulous combo and a
great way to start the episode. Mhm. (gentle music) - Hi Beryl, my name is Yasmina, I am originally from Lebanon. The dish I want to talk about today is called (speaking foreign
language) or chickpeas fatteh. There are a few other
variations for the dish. I like to have mine the
non-traditional way. The dish is usually layered, and I start out by
assembling my warm chickpeas, followed by the yogurt and garlic. And then you have all the crunchy bits from the nuts and the bread. I enjoy crunchy food a lot. And at the very top, the
deep fried Arabic bread. I like to substitute it for toast because sometimes it's on hand for me. What makes the dish very special is the garlic and yogurt mixture. It's a staple in our country, and you can find many other
dishes with yogurt and garlic. The garlic has a very spicy taste, but then the yogurt comes in and it kind of cools off the
spiciness from the garlic. - I feel like it needs just
like a little more garlic. I was a fool to have
followed the garlic ratio. Always one more. - [Yasmina] You can find it in any of the specialty breakfast
places in the country. But sometimes when I don't
have time to prepare my lunch, I just throw it together
and have it for lunch. The reason why the chickpeas
are the staple in the dish is because of their
buttery and creamy texture. They bring the runniness of the yogurt and the crispiness of
the bread all together. The chickpeas also absorb the
flavors from the olive oil, from the yogurt and from the
garlic really, really well. - Uh, we're having a little
bit of a three bears moment. The first oil, little too low. Second oil, little too hot. Okay, are you, are you okay oil? This one should be just right. Please be just right. Oh god, this one seems
like it's still too hot. No, no, this one's good. I like think I'm good at frying
and then I get terrified. - [Yasmina] I learned about this dish from my mom and my dad. As a child I used to
be a very picky eater, and fatteh used to be one
of the very few dishes that I used to enjoy eating a lot. Also, something else
that's very important to me about the dish is that we used to have it on Sundays with my dad for breakfast. He used to work a lot, so it
used to be our time together. The ingredients are not really special, but when you combine them all together, they are like tasting a new flavor and it's something that you do not expect. I hope you guys enjoy. - I think that this
dish looks so beautiful and there are definitely ways that you could make this a
kind of like instant dish, just by buying pita
chips, and then like boom. But on this show, if I just
opened a bag of pita chips and put 'em on a plate,
it wouldn't really quite have the feel of what
we're doing over here. So my first homemade pita. Ooh, this spoon looks like, delicious. This is a pretty big bite. Let's do it anyway. (gentle music) It was too big.
(Beryl laughs) I'm sorry, internet. Wow. Are you fricking serious? Well, this might be my new favorite meal. Carbs, protein. Feels great to me. The first time that I had
garlic yogurt was when I made a Turkish egg dish called
Cilbir and it changed my life. And it's just like so simple to make, because you just have to smush the garlic. But Yasmine is right,
like everything in here works so well together. That biting-ness of the garlic
mixed with the creamy yogurt and the creamy chick peas
and then the crunchy bread. I also love crunchy food, so this is, I get why this is such a great dish for crunchy girls like us. Mm. Wow. The one thing though is you kind of have to eat this right away, 'cause even while I've been
yip yabbering away here, the pita chips with the yogurt
are starting to get softer. And that's not bad. But you know, you're here for the crunch. God, you know what, this
is like Lebanese nachos. Because you have like all the
layers of all the toppings and like I kept wanting to get
like the ones on the bottom that have all the stuff, not like the bare chip
over here on the side. You know, like on the nacho plate like, there's the good stuff. And then if you're too
slow you end up with like, that one weird naked chip
with the like one string of cheese on it and you're like, "mm, I'm happy with this." Maybe. If you're not afraid of frying, I would recommend frying
your own pita chips, because like there's
definitely a different flavor than buying pita chips in the bag. But, and totally fair, if you're like, "I don't wanna fry pita chips," I honestly think like this is
one of these amazing dishes that you can whip together
by buying everything like and just Bob's your uncle, you're done. And there's something very special about a really delicious
dish from another culture that you can get like from the
aisles of your supermarket. And this is that. Amazing chickpea dish. Yum. (gentle music) - Hi, my name is Noor and
I'm from Cairo, Egypt. The chickpea dish I would
like to share with you today is called Homs Elsham, or
(speaking foreign language), depends where you are in
Egypt has different names. But here in Cairo we call it homs elsham. Homs Elsham is basically
a savory hot drink that we have here during winter. It's a boiled chickpea with
onions and different spices. And after it's made you
would have it in a cup. - Lovely. - [Noor] What I like
about Homs Elsham the most is that it's very customizable. Everyone can have it however as they like. You can add too much spice, no spice, lemon, no lemon. So basically however you like it, there is no wrong or right way to have it. I mean it's a very
common dish across Egypt. I think everyone knows about it, but especially here in Cairo. I remember when I was in middle school, we used to have private lessons, me and my best friends after school. - It doesn't say how much. It just says cumin, chili powder and salt. I'm just gonna go with
my heart, per usual. - [Noor] And after we finished, I remember we used to
go to this small place that sells Homs Elsham, and would stand there having a cup. - So because I'm using canned chickpeas, I'm just gonna put the chickpeas in after I've made the broth, or the drink portion of this, since they don't need
to be boiled anymore. But if you were using dried chickpeas they'd obviously have to be in here. Ooh, it's smelling really nice. Hot though. - I first learned about this
dish by going with my dad. He used to go meet his friends after work in this small coffee shop. So my dad would order this for me. It was the only kid drink they have. It's mostly a street food. Would have it from street
courts all during winter. I think everyone should try it because it's a new way to have a simple, plain ingredient as chickpeas. It's a new way for everyone to try and I think everyone will actually like it if you give it a chance. And I hope you all do. Thank you. - I think this was a dish
that definitely surprised me, especially when Noor sent
me all the photos of it. I was like, that is something
I have never had before. And I have spent a good
amount of time in Egypt, 'cause my sister used to live there. But I have never tried this dish. I guess I was there in
the summertime though. I do love a sipping broth though. I'm gonna put my lime wedge in. Look at me. God, there is something just like, just like taking a gulp of a broth. It's honestly a simple pleasure. This definitely tastes like a very delicate tomato soup, kind of. I guess a tomato drink. I did use canned chickpeas
instead of dried chickpeas, but I don't think that
would've like necessarily made the flavor that much more intense. I think it was more about the spices. I also did originally like, heavily over spice this to the point that my tongue was
honestly like, going numb. How much, how much red
chili did I put in this? Ooh. But now we've reached a very happy, relaxing and delicious medium. (slurping sound)
(gentle music) Ooh, those have all of the
flavor of that kind of broth. Ooh, they're very tomatoey and nice. And like warm and soft. That was like really relaxing. I feel like, I just feel like I could like take a nap. (gentle music)
(slurping sound) Ahh. That was nice. I just feel like, calm.
(Beryl laughs) (gentle music) - Hi Beryl, my name is Ivy
and I live in Yangon, Myanmar. And today I would love
to introduce to you one of my favorite dishes called tofu nway, or warm chickpea tofu in English. It's a classic breakfast dish from the same region in Myanmar where some tofu is made
with chickpea flour and not soy beans. The dish has three basic components. The chickpea paste, rice
noodles and the chicken curry. Then it's typically topped with
soy sauce, crushed peanuts, and fried garlic or
onion for some texture. You can also add chili
flake for a kick of spice, or pickled vegetables
according to your liking. - I need to make a list
of things that I need to update in my kitchen. And can we please add to that list a whisk that is just bigger than
half the palm of my hand? Why do I only have tiny, tiny things? Look at my spatula. It's child size. - [Ivy] As you delve into the dish, you'll find a symphony
of flavors and texture dancing across the palette. The soft, warm tofu coats every strand of noodle making it creamy and luxurious. - In all of the videos that I watched about how to make this, so much of it was about getting
the consistency thicker, but mine is instantly thick and it needs to be a little thinner. So I'm just gonna add a
little bit of water at a time so that it can be like a little bit more of a thick soup versus a dough. - [Ivy] The slight tang
of the tomatoey chicken and the soy sauce cut through
the nuttiness of the chickpea, and enhance umami flavor. And the crunch of the crushed peanuts and fried garlic provides a
much needed contrast in texture. But the chickpea is the star of the show. Lighting up your taste
buds with each mouthful. It's just a warm, hearty
bowl of awesomeness that never fails to be confident. - Nice. - [Ivy] It's very much representative of what Burmese food is all about. Big, warm flavors that will fill you up. The dish can be found in most tea houses and major cities around the country, and it's mostly eaten for breakfast. It's mostly a quick simple meal you have to before school or work, but it's not unusual for people to have it on special occasions as well. Our country is a melting pot of cultures from all the different people living here, as well as all the different
countries surrounding us. For me, that's the cornerstone and beauty of Burmese cuisine. We pull from all these
different influences, but we make them our own. And tofu nway is no different. It's the dish I shared with my grandfather on his last family tip with
us before he passed away. I believe food should be
more than just sustenance. That it is the key to
who we are as individuals and part of this collective humanity. It's how we so love and
connect with others. Food is a history lesson, it's an exploration in human
creativity and survival, and I hope it gives you
the same level of comfort it has given me throughout the years, and also broadening
your culinary horizons, and make you more curious
about the world we inhabit. Thank you very much. - This looks amazing. I was intimidated by the recipe, but it came together really quickly and I feel like I really
learned something new about this idea of a chickpea tofu. Okay, I'm just gonna mix this, and we're gonna switch to like
a POV cam so you can see it. It sounds pretty good. (gentle music) Oo a big chunk down. (gentle music) I mean, this is not lacking in flavor. Wow. There's a lot going on. The only thing that I've
ever done with chickpea flour is use it as a batter in Indian cooking. The other thing I learned in doing this is that you can make chickpea flour tofu. So if you can't eat tofu
made out of soybeans, you can take the chickpea
flour, mix it with water, cook it down so it's really
thick, put it in the fridge. And I'm gonna leave a link
in the description for that. That is so freaking cool. (gentle music) Mm. This is so satisfying. If you can't find basin
flour where you live, but you're interested in making this, you can use whole chickpeas where you're just gonna grind them up and mix them with water. I will leave a link in the
description to a recipe that I found that does that. The flavor of this chickpea
tofu sauce is really simple, but it adds like a very thick coating and makes everything
in this dish feel like, very hearty and very comforting almost. I also wanna say that
I just really had fun making this dish for some reason. I just was in like a joyful mood today, and making this like all the
elements of it were simple, even though I was doing
something totally unknown and I just thoroughly
enjoyed the whole process. So I would highly recommend
you guys try this. It's super different. Definitely a whole new
way to look at chickpeas. And like, tastes fabulous. (gentle music) Uh oh. Mm. Hmm. (gentle music) - Hi, my name is Arooba and
I'm from Abdabad, Pakistan. The dish I want to talk
about today is chikar cholay. In English, we can call
it spiced chickpea curry. Chikar cholay is simply
made from chickpeas simmered in a blend of spices. What makes it special
is the infusion of tea. - I was thinking about it, but like let me know in the
comments what I could be doing with the chickpea liquid, because I do think that it has uses as a vegan egg substitute, I think. But I'm not sure. 'Till then. - [Arooba] I love chikar cholay because it has a special
savory and a delightful taste. (chickpeas sizzling) - Loud.
(Beryl laughs) - [Arooba] And holds a lot
of memories of my childhood where we used to go into
different gatherings and eat it. - Okay, nice and dry. Now we're gonna bruise some tea. Even though this little pot
gives me a lot of grief, the people who've seen the
show for a while will know, I just can't retire it. It's sturdy. Just please don't fall over. - [Arooba] Chikar cholay is
a common dish in Pakistan. - [Beryl] No! Right after. - [Arooba] And it has deep
connection with our culture. It is often served in different gatherings and weddings, et cetera. My parents and grandparents were the one who taught me about chikar cholay, and I do cook it myself now. Chikar cholay is simply eaten
with puri, naan or rice. It has a special taste. Tea is the key ingredient
that makes it special. Chickpeas are a common
ingredient across Pakistan as it is used in many salads, different dishes across Pakistan. - Hmm. Okay. - [Arooba] People should try Chikar cholay to enjoy the smokey flavor and spiciness of different Pakistani cuisine. And it's close to my heart as well. I hope you will try it. Thank you. - When Arooba has sent this recipe, I honestly thought that it
was going to be very similar to this Indian dish, Chana masala, that is chickpeas,
onions, tomatoes, spices. I was wrong. And when she sent me the
recipes I was even like, "oh, did you miss the
onions and tomatoes?" And she was like, "no,
no, no. Just the tea." And so this became one of the
most interesting dishes to me about spicing the chickpeas and then making a gravy with black tea. Very surprising. Very surprising. (gentle music) You can taste the tea. Like there is an aromatic element to this that is not any of the spices. And like there is that, it's subtle flavor, but it's also like you couldn't miss it. You can smell the tea. Crazy. That is just absolutely crazy. What a way to jeuje something up, and make the expected suddenly
become the unexpected. I think chickpeas are really good for kind of more dry
spiced dishes like this, because they do a really great job of absorbing a lot of flavors. And also they're great carriers of spices. Whereas like a thing
like, you know, a tomato, they don't carry flavor in the same way. And chickpeas also add that like, heartiness that makes things
taste like really satiating. So when you have a dish
that has a lot of spices, I think chickpeas are
always a great addition. Not only to like satiate you, but just to like help fill out everything. And for this dish in particular, everything is just like,
bursting with flavor. The whole thing, like my
mouth is just like, dancing, which is a great way to be. Chickpeas, man. Can't live with 'em,
can't live without 'em. This episode was awesome. I did things with chickpeas that I did not know that you could do. Do not forget that all the recipes are going to be in the description. And if you're looking for more
cool foods around the world, bing! Here are two more episodes. One where we explore tomatoes
and how they're used, and another where we look at zucchini. I will see you all in my next episode.
