Botanical Name                      Cicer arietinum

Common name                       Gram pea (English), Kondai kadalai (Tamil)

Religious significance             It is associated with Mangal (Mars). Lord Mars (Shri Angarahan) He is the son of Prithvi (Goddess Earth) and shown with four hands. His two hands are holding a mace and javelin and other two are held in abhaya and varada mudra. Lord Mars is associated with war, red colour, coral and Tuesday.

Uses    Chickpeas are an excellent source of the essential nutrients, iron, folate, phosphorus, protein, and dietary fiber. Chickpeas are low in fat and most of this is poly-satrurated.