• Wash the dry chickpeas very well in water and soak the chickpeas in enough water in a large bowl for about 7 to 8 hours or overnight for best results. Make sure to use a large bowl because the chickpeas will absorb water and they will enlarge in size. If they absorb all water before the soaking time, you can add little more water.
• Once the chickpeas is soaked for enough hours, you can see that they have doubled in size.
• Discard the water used for soaking the chickpeas and rinse the chickpeas again in fresh water.
• Now the chickpeas is ready to be cooked.

Stove top pan method:

• Place the chickpeas in a large sized saucepan or pot (this is important because if you use small vessels the contents can boil over while cooking the chickpeas).
• Add water, salt and seasonings, mix well.
• Bring the mixture to a boil.
• Once it starts boiling, reduce the heat to medium low, cover the pan with lid and cook for about one hour.
• After that, open the pan, mix well and check if water is enough.
• If needed, you may add one more cup of water and cover and cook for another 30 minutes (so the total cooking time is at least about 1.5 hours) or until the chickpeas is well cooked and soft in texture.
• Once the cooking is done, if there is any leftover liquid, you may discard the liquid or save it for using in soups, stew, curries etc.
• Transfer the cooked chickpeas to a serving dish, season with more salt, pepper etc (or any seasonings you want), enjoy it as it is or you can use it to make chickpea curry, soups, salads etc.
• If using canned chickpeas (15 oz can), drain the water from the can, rinse the chickpeas and cook for about 25 to 30 minutes (pan covered once the mixture is boiled) until the chickpeas is cooked and soft in texture.

Stove top pressure cooker method:

• Place the soaked chickpeas, water, salt and seasonings in a large sized pressure cooker (at least 6 quartz in size) and mix well.
• Close the pressure cooker with safety valve in position (follow all instructions in the maual while using pressure cooker for safety reasons).
• Cook in high heat until steam begins to release and once the steam is released, wait for couple of minutes until the pressure builds up, then reduce the heat to medium low and cook for about 12 minutes time.
• Once the cooking is done, turn off the heat and allow the pressure cooker to cool down.
• Once the pressure cooker is cooled enough, carefully open the pressure cooker and mix the contents.
• You may save or discard any leftover liquid and use the cooked chickpeas in any dishes as you like!
• If using canned chickpeas (15 oz can), drain the water from the can, rinse the chickpeas and use a cooking time of about 6 minutes once the steam begins to release.

Instant pot method for soaked chickpeas:

• Place the soaked chickpeas in inner pot of instant pot pressure cooker.
• Add water, salt and seasonings, mix well.
• Close the instant pot with lid in sealing position, cook in high pressure for 7 minutes.
• If you want really soft chickpeas so you can mash them to make hummus, patties etc, you may cook for about 10 to 12 minutes based on how soft you want the chickpeas.
• Once the cooking is done, wait for a natural pressure release.
• If you are in a hurry, you may carefully do a gradual controlled manual pressure release after about 14 minutes of natural pressure release.
• Once the pressure is all released, carefully open the lid of the instant pot.
• Mix the contents and transfer the cooked chickpeas to a serving dish (you may save or discard any leftover liquid) or you can use the cooked chickpeas in any dishes as you like.

Instant pot no soak method:

• You may skip the soaking of chickpeas if you are in a hurry and if you are using instant pot pressure cooker to cook the chickpeas.
• To cook dried chickpeas directly in instant pot pressure cooker without soaking in water first, rinse the dried chickpeas very well and add the chickpeas to the inner pot of instant pot pressure cooker.
• Add water, salt and seasonings, mix well.
• Close the instant pot with lid in sealing position and cook in high pressure for 35 to 40 minutes.
• The chickpeas won't be very soft at this point, but it will be perfectly cooked and will be great for using in salad recipes and such.
• If you want more softer chickpeas, you may cook for another few more minutes (up to about 50 to 60 minutes) based on how soft you want the chickpeas.
• Once the cooking is done, wait for a natural pressure release.
• Once the pressure is all released naturally, carefully open the lid of the instant pot and mix the contents.
• Transfer the cooked chickpeas to a serving dish, season with more salt, pepper etc if needed, or you can add them to salads or any dishes like curry, soups, stew etc (you may discard or save the leftover liquid).
• If using canned chickpeas (15 oz can), drain the water from the can, rinse the chickpeas and use a cooking time of 6 minutes in high pressure.