Friday, July 16, 2010

Chickpea Milk- Homemade

Chickpea milk- voilà!
I used to buy soy milk when I needed a non dairy alternative to milk, but it was quite expensive. I learned how to make my own soy milk, and for a while, made that instead. I've since learned about many health issues related to soy, and now try to avoid it as much as possible. According to iParentingLife.com, while there are other non dairy alternatives to soy milk out there, they're usually expensive to buy or even make. I heard about the concept of chickpea milk as a soy milk alternative but couldn't find instructions, so I just figured it out on my own.
The taste is quite good, and remarkably similar to soy milk.



Chickpea Milk Recipe

Ingredients
2-3 cups of chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
Water
Honey, sucanat, or sugar (to taste)
Salt (to taste)

Equipment Needed
Large container
Food Processor (I use the attachment on my blender stick)
Large pot
Colander
Cheese cloth (I use a thin white cloth napkin)
Weight (I use a small bowl filled with water)

Instructions


1. Soak the chickpeas in water overnight. Make sure to put in lots of water because the chickpeas expand and absorb a lot. (Don't put the chickpeas in a tall, narrow container or they will get stuck once they expand.) When they finish soaking, they should be soft enough to bite.

Soaked chickpeas
2. Blend the chickpeas until they form as smooth a paste as possible. You'll need to add some water and also stop the machine periodically to push down the sides no no unblended parts remain.

3. Fill a large pot halfway with water and bring to a boil on the stove. (Do not overfill as chickpea milk has a tendency to bubble over.)

4. When the water is boiling, add the chickpea paste to the water, mix, and let it cook on a medium heat for 20 minutes or so. You'll want to mix it periodically and stand on guard because the chickpea milk will probably boil over. The bad news is there's not much you can do to prevent it. You can stop it mid-boil over by lowering the flame and pouring a cup of cold water on the foamy mess, but it only works partially. The good news is that once the boiled over chickpea milk on the stove dries, it flakes off very easy and is quite a breeze to clean.


5. Strain the milk. Chickpea milk is a bit thicker than soy milk, so the straining process needs to be a drop different. Either strain through a mesh strainer into a large container, or line a collander with a cheese cloth. Usually when straining through a cheese cloth, you simply let it drip, but chickpea milk is too thick to simply drip through- it must be pressed through. Tie the cheese cloth and put a weight on it, like a bowl filled with water, or simply wait till the chickpea milk cools down enough to handle and squeeze out the milk by hand.

Two straining cheesecloth/napkins, because one wasn't big enough..

Alternatively, simply pour through a fine mesh strainer, and let gravity do it's magic. This way will result in a slightly thicker milk.

You may need to use a spoon to make sure the strainer doesnt get blocked.

6. Fix it up. Water down the chickpea milk and add salt and sweetener to taste. I usually put less than a tablespoon of each and water down the chickpea milk quite a bit.

Chickpea milk- voilà!
7. When making soy milk, the soy bean leftovers are called okara. I call our leftovers chickpea okara, and they can be used in many dishes, some of which I hope to share soon.


8. Enjoy!

Have you ever heard of chickpea milk before? Have you ever made any non dairy milks at home? What type? What is your favorite non dairy milk?


Linking up with Vegetarian Foodie Friday, Food on Fridays, Fight Back Friday, and Foodie Friday. 

16 comments:

  1. I thought I don't have any soybeans now, and remembered the bag of chickpeas on the shelf and thought I'd try this. Looked it up to see if anyone else had done it, this is how I gauge if my ideas are really bad or not, glad to see it worked out for you.

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  2. Hello! I'm online looking up recipes to make chickpea milk and tofu.I'm going to try this and will let you know how it turns out. I have made soy milk and tofu in the past.
    Zoe

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  3. Hello! This looks good. I'm going to try this recipe. Thanks for the post.

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  4. Hi, I was really excited about another option other than almond or soy milk that was also a lot cheaper than almond milk but I was so disappointed with the end result! To me it was just a thick tasteless waste of time and ingredient's. I now have about 2.5ltr of this milk but don't know what to do with it. I'm really sorry but I'm sure your experience was different.

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  5. Yeah I am inclined to go with an ultrafine grind on the dry chick pease and simply add it as a "powdered milk" to the water before hand, as a milk in in's own right.

    I am sorry for outsmarting all you women, but I am a man, and men make better cooks.

    It's scientifically proven.

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  6. how much water?
    can i use the soy milk recipe for chick pea milk?

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  7. I have a Soyabella machine and am following the instructions, right now, for making chickpea milk - just put the beans to soak. I'm allergic to soy & almond milk, don't care for thin watery taste of rice milk, so am willing to experiment.

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  8. Hi, thanks for sharing, just loved it! You can try to use the leftover to make a cream/soup with spinach. Just posted it on our instagram (@salcomalho) and the recipe will be on your blogspot soon!

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  9. Thank you for the recipe. A little tip that I learned- put a wooden spoon over a pot that is boiling and it won't boil over. Even the physics folks agree. :)
    https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/31029/how-can-a-wooden-spoon-be-used-to-prevent-water-from-over-boiling

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  10. hello, This sounds great ... I have a question. I've begun to make soy yogurt, but this sounds like it might as well (it actually sounds like it could potentially be a thicker, tastier yogurt!) ... so, is it possible to make chickpea yogurt? If it is then would it work by using the soy recipe - only replacing it with chickpea milk?

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  11. Oatmeal milk is also very inexpensive and easy to make. I often use it to make a vegan "mozzarella" cheese to use in lasagna and pizza, it melts well and is hard to tell from dairy cheese. I prefer the flavor of oat milk in tea or over cereal or even just to drink.

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    Replies
    1. Would you be willing to share your oat mozzarella cheese recipe please ? We have nut allergies in our family and I have been searching for alternatives.

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    2. A Google search for "vegan mozzeralla" will return a lot of recipes. I base my favorite on a recipe from the veganblueberry site, substituting tapioca flour for arrowroot and extra-virgin olive oil for the coconut oil. I use oat milk, sunflower seed milk, and even chickpea milk instead of cashews.

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  12. people add oil when cooking beans to keep foam from forming... it might help here, too

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