Traditional Uses of Chickpea Root

Tropical cultures have many traditional uses of chickpea root. The seeds of the root are high in protein and can be eaten as a healthy snack, much like sunflower seeds and peanuts. The chickpea root is often ground into soup or into a livestock feed in Latin American countries. In Chile, chickpea root is cooked to create chickpea milk. The milk is used for babies and as a medicine for diarrhea.

Textiles

• Chickpea root has uses in creating textiles. The plant produces starch that can be used to finish cotton, silk and wool cloth. The ingredients inside the chickpea root and leaves also provide an indigo color dye for cloth.

Animal Feed

• Various parts of the chickpea root, leaves and seeds are used for animal food. When the stem or roots are dried, the seeds can be harvested for domestic pet or livestock feed. The husks from the chickpea can be used in their fresh "green" state or dried and used as feed for farm animals.

Human Consumption

• The high protein content of the chickpea root and seeds make the plant popular as a base to a multitude of human food items. Seeds harvested from the root are frequently ground into flour to make soup and bread. Ground seeds are mixed with lemon, salt and pepper and served as a side-dish. When the chickpea is split and the seed coat removed it is called Dhal. After the Dhal is dried it is ground into a fine mixture similar to flour and used to make soup, coffee, snack food or added as a sweetener to meat. Seeds from a chickpea root can be eaten in their natural state or roasted, fried, boiled or parched and eaten as a snack or blended as a sweetener into condiments.

Medicinal Uses

• Although chickpea root is not waterproof, it is often used in Latin American countries as an adhesive bandage. Organic acid found inside the leaves can be used in a medicinal manner to clean cuts and scrapes or as a vinegar substitute in the kitchen. The chickpea is a hypocholesteremic agent and has been found to be effective in controlling the cholesterol levels of lab rats. The sour-tasting oxalic and malic acids found inside the root, leaves and seed pods are used to combat snakebite, warts, constipation, diarrhea, sunstroke, bronchitis and cholera. In India farmers soak up the acids from the chickpea root by laying a muslin cover on top of the rows of crops at night and then collect and bottle the acid for sale.