There are two types of chickpeas:

• Desi - "with small, dark seeds and a rough coat (prevailing in the Indian subcontinent, Ethiopia, Mexico, Iran)"
• Kabuli- "with light-coloured, larger seeds and a smoother coat (mainly grown in South Europe, North Africa, Afghanistan, introduced to India only in the 18th cent., Chile)."

The Desi form is also known as Bengal gram or chana. The Kabuli form is the kind grown e.g. in the Mediterranean today. The desi-type closely resembles those seeds found on archaeological sites and the wild ancestor, so it is probably the earlier form. Desi-type chickpeas are said to have a very low glycemic index making it good for many people with blood sugar problems.

Mature chickpeas can be eaten in salads, cooked in stews, ground into a flour called gram flour (also known as besan and used in Indian cuisine), ground and shaped in balls and fried as falafel stirred into a batter and baked to make farinata, cooked and ground into a paste called hummus, or roasted, spiced and eaten as a snack (e.g. leblebi).