Desi chickpeas are the small dark ones, and they are not simply a smaller version of the big pale kind. They are firmer, nuttier and hold their shape through a long cook.

Kala chana is the dish most people know them from, cooked whole in a dry, heavily spiced masala rather than a wet gravy.

Soak overnight and pressure cook. Serve as kala chana with onion and lemon, use them in a salad, or roast them once cooked for something to eat with a drink.

In the pantry aisle at Curry Corner, North Melbourne.