Ingredients

　　Prepare plain rice in any of the above ways. At the same time, sauté 1 chopped onion in 2 tablespoons butter or oil until softened. Add drained chickpeas from a 15-ounce can and cook, stirring, until heated through. Stir into the rice. In Turkey this is nohutlu pilav. It features famously in Ottoman folklore. At the Palace of Topkapi, in the time of Mehmed the Conqueror, a little gold ball in the shape of a chickpea would be embedded in the rice, creating excitement among the guests, who all hoped to be the happy recipients (unless they broke a tooth).

　　The New Book of Middle Eastern Food Copyright © 2000Knopf