By Jessie Lehail,
Special to The Post

I’ve been on a bit of a chickpea kick lately, if you hadn’t noticed already.
It only made sense that I roast some up for a grazing snack to have on hand.
Roasted chickpeas have a popcorn-esque snackiness. I can munch on them with abandon since they have benefit of being low in saturated fat and being a healthy source of iron and folate.
The flavour of chickpeas is kind of like a blank canvas for seasoning, perfect for when they are roasted. They’re a little nutty, but they’ll take on savoury flavours exceptionally well. For this recipe. I was inspired by Leblebi, a snack made from roasted chickpeas, common and popular in Algeria, Iran and Turkey.
Leblebi are seasoned with salt, hot spices, ground cloves, and sometimes even candy coated.
My version of Leblebi has a seasoning mix that includes, black pepper, cumin, paprika, chili, chaat masala, and soy sauce.
I like my roasted chickpeas to be extra crispy on the outside, so I like to use a generous amount of olive oil to coat them and I cook them for a few extra minutes. Really I love the ones that are slightly charred. It gives them more of a crunch, but they remain creamy on the inside.
For this snack I use canned chickpeas - after draining they need to be placed on a paper towel to dry fully. I usually place a paper towel on top of the chickpeas as well, a quasi-blanket of sort, and then roll the chickpeas around to get them super dry.
The more moisture left on them, the less crisp they will be in the end.
And I like my roasted chickpeas to be crispy crunchy.
After the whole drying process, I put the chickpeas in a large mixing bowl, add a few glugs of olive oil and the spices. Then, I spread them on a baking sheet that is usually lined with parchment paper because it makes my life easier.
Then I bake them for 15 minutes, remove the baking sheet from oven and toss the chickpeas with spatula, maybe even change the position of the tray and bake for about 15 minutes more. Then it’s all about eating them. Each chickpea absorbs the flavours of the spices and soy sauce during roasting, making them nibble worthy. 

• 2 cans or 3 cups chickpeas (rinsed well, pat dry with paper towel)
• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon Himalayan salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon chaat masala
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin 

Directions 
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Rinse chickpeas well and blot dry. In a large mixing bowl toss remaining ingredients with chickpeas. Arrange chickpeas in a single layer on parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake 15 minutes, stirring a few times. Stir, Bake for another 15 minutes or until chickpeas are dark brown and crisp on the outside. Allow chickpeas to cool. Store in airtight container.

Jessie Lehail is the author of Indian Influence, a food blog that takes global eats and reinterprets them with a South Asian influence. Visit her blog at www.indianinfluence.ca.