How long a pulse needs soaking depends on the type: large pulses like chickpeas and dried beans need 8 to 12 hours, while small, hulled pulses such as red lentils can go straight into the pot with no soaking at all.
What determines the soaking time?
The main factor behind soaking time is a pulse's skin thickness and size. Chickpeas and dried beans have a thick skin that slows how fast water reaches the inside, which is why they need an overnight soak — more than eight hours. Larger bean varieties like borlotti beans need a similarly long soak, sometimes up to twelve hours.
Smaller pulses like green lentils, or borlotti beans on the smaller side, can get by with six to eight hours. Hulled red and yellow lentils skip soaking entirely, since the skin is already removed; they soften in boiling water in as little as fifteen to twenty minutes.
Can you cook them without soaking at all?
Chickpeas and dried beans can be cooked without soaking, but cooking time can roughly double and the pot needs to hold more water throughout. A pressure cooker makes unsoaked cooking more practical, since the pressure softens the skin faster; even so, some beans may still finish softening later than others.
Why should the soaking water be changed?
It helps to refresh the soaking water once partway through, ideally around the halfway point of an eight-hour soak; water left standing too long can start to turn sour, and that smell can carry through to the cooked pulses. The soaking water is never used for cooking — it's drained and replaced with fresh water, which both washes away some gas-producing compounds and leaves a cleaner taste.
What signs should you watch for while soaking?
By the end of soaking, the pulses should have swollen to nearly double their size and feel slightly springy to the touch; grains that are still hard and small need more time. Some foaming or a faint smell on the water's surface is normal, but a sharp, sour smell means it's sat too long somewhere warm and the water should be changed right away. Any wrinkled grains floating on top are usually bad or infested and should be picked out and discarded.
What about split peas or chickpea flour?
Dried whole peas have a skin about as thick as chickpeas, so they need a similar 6 to 8 hour soak; split peas, with the skin already removed, only need an hour or two. Chickpea or lentil flour is already ground, so it needs no soaking at all — it goes straight into water for mixing. Forgetting that distinction and leaving a ground pulse sitting in water for hours turns it into a paste that's no longer usable for most recipes.
Comments (1)
Nohutu sabah kahvaltıdan önce ıslatıp akşam pişirsem 10 saat gibi bir süre geçmiş oluyor, bu kadarı fazla mı olur yoksa tam kıvamında mı?
On saat gayet uygun bir süre, nohut için sorun çıkarmaz; asıl dikkat edilmesi gereken sıcak bir mutfakta suyun ekşimeye başlamasıdır. Serin bir yerde bekletiyorsanız on iki saate kadar da rahatlıkla uzatabilirsiniz.