Chickpeas-how do you soak them?

I don't soak, and cook in a pressure cooker. Soaking shortens the cooking time, but I'm not that much of a planner to decide the night before that I'm going to need them.

how long you cook depends on how old the beans are (older takes longer to cook) and how soft you want them.

Cool. I have a pressure cooker I rarely use b/c I don't understand it. And, I very rarely think 24 hours ahead of time.

So, you take the dried chickpeas and put them in the p.c? Just on average-about how many minutes?
Could you do that w/black beans, too?

Thanks!

LOL, it's the only thing I use my pressure cooker for. I cook all my dried beans in it. If your looking for a good cookbook with info on cooking in a pressure cooker, I suggest Lorna Sass' Cooking Under Pressure. Her Complete Vegetarian Kitchen is really good and lots of info on pressure cooking too.

Remember that you don't start timing until the cooker comes to complete pressure. Aproximate times for unsoaked beans are Garbonzos 30 minutes and black beans 20. I usually undercook the beans a little if I'm adding them to a soup, stew or chile that will be still cooking for awhile after they are added. That way they don't get too soft and fall apart.

I always buy dried beans, then soak and cook 2 pounds at a time, package into 1 cup packages and freeze. I soak them overnight and cook for an hour or two, depending on the kind of bean it is.