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Chickpea Sticks with Yogurt Dipping Sauce

by:
March 15, 2021
3.6
7 Ratings
Photo by James Ransom
  • Prep time 5 minutes
  • Cook time 1 hour 15 minutes
  • Serves 10 to 12
Author Notes

These Fries are made with Chickpea Flour. They are super crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. The dipping sauce is a perfect combination for these tasty fries. —Justforlicks

Test Kitchen Notes

WHO: Justforlicks lives in California and writes over at the website justforlicks.com.
WHAT: Your average fry gets lighter, airier, and sexier.
HOW: Make a polenta-esque mixture of chickpea flour and water, then cool it on a baking sheet. Slice and fry. Sprinkle with sumac, and dunk!
WHY WE LOVE THEM: These fries are fantastic on their own; they fry up golden and perfect, and are at once puffy, crispy, and pudding-y. But when dunked in their sauce, they become completely irresistible. —The Editors

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Ingredients
  • Chickpea Fries
  • 4 cups water
  • 2 cups chickpea flour
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon cumin (optional)
  • 2 cups vegetable oil
  • Sumac, for dusting
  • Yogurt Mint Dipping Sauce
  • 2/3 cup yogurt (thin -- not Greek style)
  • 1 clove garlic, small and chopped fine
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons mint, chopped fine
  • 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
Directions
  1. Chickpea Fries
  2. Place the water in a pot with the salt and bring to a boil. Add the cumin to the chickpea flour. Pour into the water and whisk vigorously until all of the water is absorbed and there are no lumps, about 2-3 minutes. You are looking for the consistency of polenta. Take the pot off the heat. There should be plenty of salt but now is the time to taste and make sure. These fries are all about the salt.
  3. Line a baking sheet with a silpat or wax paper. Pour the chickpea mixture onto the baking sheet and spread evenly. Set aside to firm for about 30 minutes.
  4. After thirty minutes, take a knife and gently cut the mixture into rectangular pieces. Use your judgement as to the size.
  5. Add the vegetable oil to a deep pan. Turn the heat to medium high. Once the oil is hot enough (you will get a nice sizzle) add some fries (about 8 at a time) and cook until they are golden brown and crispy on the outside. Take them out and place on a paper towel lined plate. Sprinkle lightly with sumac. Transfer to dish and serve immediately.
  1. Yogurt Mint Dipping Sauce
  2. Combine all ingredients and mix well.
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47 Reviews

Write a Review
Stuart G. March 15, 2021
Wow, this recipe makes a lot of fries, I'll halve it next time. I didn't manage to get all the lumps out, but they turned out fine in the end. Also, I was surprised at how much oil is required to cook them evenly. I think this would be a great swap to reduce the carbs in fish and chips.
thzhou December 22, 2019
The taste was good, however the technique did not work out for. Instead of the fries crisping up while frying, they disintegrated instead... Not sure what went wrong! I ended up panfrying them to help them keep their shape.
pow October 20, 2019
I found them a bit too salty
L November 22, 2017
how long can the batter be refrigerated for, since it's such a large batch? can the extras be frozen? if so, would you freeze them before frying, or fry them first, then freeze and reheat in the oven? thanks.
Jo S. December 23, 2015
And my small waffle machine (for the flat heartshaped ones) also worked just fine :)
Jo S. December 23, 2015
I tried this batter with my Churros Maker :) You have to find the right consistency, but it works just fine! :)
Here you can get one: http://www.ebay.com/itm/DELICIOUS-CHURRO-MAKER-GUN-CREATE-YOUR-OWN-CHURROS-/111000807773?hash=item19d829e95d:m:m8MdAnTcITBt4e9m8mLVx3w

Cheers :)
X November 9, 2015
I made these last night and they were great. I cut the salt back to 1/2 teaspoon, added a good pinch of cayenne pepper, and brushed them with olive oil and baked them. When done, I sprinkled the tops with the sumac and just a tiny bit of sea salt and served them with tahini-garlic dip. They were a great accompaniment to a lemony spinach soup
Laura415 March 30, 2015
On making chickpea fries with whole chickpeas...I used approximately 1 cup of cooked canned chickpeas + 1 cup of water + 1/2 up to 3/4 cup chickpea flour + Salt + cumin.
First I simmered the cooked chickpeas and water until heated through. Then I blended them with my stick blender until smooth. I then added the 1/2 cup of chickpea flour, salt, and cumin and whisked it until blended. It seemed too liquid and not like polenta so I added a couple tablespoons or so more of chickpea flour. My test for polenta texture is when the mixture is dry enough to separate from the pan like polenta does when I cook it. I scraped it into a glass dish to cool and solidify. So far so good:) I cut off the ragged end and heated some ghee to pan fry the test piece. I pan fried it until golden brown on each side. Added a dusting of finishing salt, sumac and cumin. They were crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside. I've got some roasting in a cast iron skillet in the oven at 400 right now. If those turn out I think these can be cooked without deep frying as long as you use the right oil and the right temperature.
The original recipe is good and this variation just adds to the number of ways to make chickpea fries with what you may already have in the cupboard. Pan frying or roasting is a good alternative for me since I don't have a range hood and I hate to have to discard so much oil after it's been heated to high deep frying temps.
Molly H. October 3, 2022
How did baking work? I also am not interested in deep frying at home but I'd like to try this recipe if roasting worked!
Laura415 March 5, 2015
Curious if I could use cooked chickpeas in the recipe? I bought the flour but have some chickpeas I need to use up. I may just try blending the cooked chickpeas and then adding the puree to the flour and water reducing the water slightly. As long as the mixture is like polenta in thickness it seems like it'd be fine. I really want to bake these, but would also be ok with sauteing them. Anybody try either method and have advice? I just can't deep fry in my apartment.
LizCo77 July 31, 2014
I made these as described and they were awesome. People were fired up about them, and I will definitely repeat the experience ASAP!
Melanie P. February 25, 2014
i wasn't able to get rid of the lumps after almost 5 minutes of whisking, am i doing something wrong?
lalf February 26, 2014
You could either add the chickpea flour / cumin mixture SLOWLY, while whisking all the time; or, you might use Mark Bittman’s suggestion (in his socca recipe) to use an immersion blender.
Kat R. December 3, 2013
Going to try making these in the oven tonight, I'll try and update with temp and times. My guess is 10 mins at 375 - 400, with a flip and finish.
Amy M. November 9, 2013
What is the nutrition figures for these?
dauter7 October 30, 2013
I have some mixed feeling regarding these. Made them and they came out light and crispy and flavorful as described. Also, they are super easy to make, especially if you buy the garbanzo flour. However, you can't eat too many of them because they start to feel too heavy. Also, they get soft within 1/2 hour but still have a nice flavor. I'd make them for a party if I was able to fry them while the fun was happening, even getting my guests in on it. I'd probably not serve them along with a meal.
GGE October 29, 2013
These were wonderful. In India we use a lot of chickpea flour for snacks. So I was worried about blending the chick pea flour into hot water. Instead I mixed it with cold water and wisled as the water came to a boil. No lumps and no problems. I also put a big pinch of cayenne as this is typicaly mixed into chick pea flour. If fried light golden the inside has a pudding consistency. If fried deep golden then it is airy like pate choux. Different family members had different favorites. We used all sorts of dips, cilantro yoghurt, spiced yoghurt, balsamic blueberry. We are going to make these for Thanksgiving. What a wonderful, easy recipe.
Jane S. October 24, 2013
These sound interesting enough to make!!
we have a local bush called 'sumac" ane we use the berries to make a lemon-ie tasting drink when we camp. Wonder if that is the same thing? I live in N. GA
Joanna F. July 13, 2014
Yes, it is! As I'm sure you already know, red sumac is the edible one. Beware the white sumac.
GreenGoddess September 1, 2021
yes dried red sumac is used in yogurt and other Middle Eastern/Mediterranean dishes.
dawnanolan October 22, 2013
chickpea fries exactly like this are served at Tiara Cafe in downtown LA, with a harissa aoili dipping sauce that is just splendid! looking forward to trying them w/ yogurt dip now! or maybe harissa mixed with yogurt! :^)
sarahhtk October 22, 2013
Could you make the chickpea mixture ahead of time (say the night before) and then fry it right before serving?
pickures October 22, 2013
I would imagine you could do that, as long as you kept it refrigerated and then brought them back to room temperature before frying so they will fry evenly and not be too cold for the oil. but I would prefer to cook them fresh as I would think they may got soggy being refrigerated overnight, don't you?
Ana October 21, 2013
I love this recipe, but would it work if I bake them??
Thanks!
Ana
pickures October 21, 2013
I would say you could bake them. you would have to figure out what oven temp, spray them lightly with a cooking spray so they do not dry out and move them around half way through.
pickures October 20, 2013
I am going to make my own chickpea flour and use my home made yogurt. cannot get better than that!!
LULULAND October 20, 2013
PLEASE TELL US HOW TOO MAKE CHICKPEA FLOUR?
pickures October 20, 2013
Chickpea flour is flour made from dried chickpeas (garbanzo beans). Also known as garbanzo flour, gram flour and besan, chickpea flour is a staple of Indian, Pakistani and Bangladesh cuisines. In Morocco, garbanzo flour from unroasted chickpeas is used to make Kalinti, a quiche-like dish often sold as a street food.

Chickpea flour can be found in Asian and Middle Eastern markets, but you can make your own at home from dried chickpeas. You'll need a food processor and coffee/spice blender.

You can roast your chickpeas lightly before grinding to yield gram flour or besan, but for many recipes that step is unnecessary.

Difficulty: Easy
Time Required: 10 minutes
Here's How:

Place 250 g of dried chickpeas in a food processor. Cover, and process on high speed for two or three minutes until a powdery flour forms. Cover the top of the feed tube so that chickpea flour doesn't waft out while the machine is running.
Sift the mixture into a bowl to separate the fine flour from the hard bits of chickpeas which did not grind.
Use a spice grinder to process the remaining bits of chickpeas to a fine, powdery flour. Do this in batches of one or two tablespoons at a time.
When all of the chickpeas have been ground to flour, sift again to remove and discard any remaining pieces of chickpeas which did not process.
Proceed with using the chickpea flour in a recipe, or store in an airtight container until needed.
What You Need

250 g of dried chickpeas (or any quantity desired)
food processor
coffee/spice grinder
sifter
pickures October 20, 2013
You can make any flour n a food processor. Almond flour can be made by grinding down slivered almonds, white rice flour or brown rice flour the same way.
The stronger your food processor, the easier it is. I have a Vitamix.