Physicochemical and nutritional quality of five improved cultivars of desi and kabuli chickpeas and their products were studied. The kabuli chickpea had larger seed (26 g/100 seeds) than desi type (21 g/100 seeds). The hydration capacity per seed of desi (0.16 g) was lower than kabuli type (0.26 g). A positive correlation (r= 0.87) between seed weight and hydration capacity was observed. The mean cooking time of dry desi vs kabuli seed (124.5 vs 113.8 min) was reduced to 37.5 vs 32.8 min and to 28.8 vs 22.5 min when soaked overnight in water and in 0.5% solution of sodium bicarbonate respectively. The mean value of protein (25.4 vs 24.4%), fat (3.7 vs 5.1%), carbohydrate (47.4 vs 55%), crude fibre (11.2 vs 3.9%), ash (3.2 vs 2.8%) and caloric value (327 vs 365 kcal/100 g) were for desi vs kabuli chickpeas respectively. There was no difference in the essential amino acid contents and in chemical scores of desi (65) and kabuli (67) chickpeas. The order of limiting amino acid was methionine + cystine, threonine and valine in both types. The chickpeas products contained 8.9–21.1% protein (N×6.25), 3.1–21.8% fat, 53.4–75.9% carbohydrate, 1.6–11.1% crude fibre, 1.2–5.9% ash, 226–360 mg Ca, 126–315 mg P, 3.8–8.2 mg Fe, 1.8–5.4 mg Zn, 1.5–5.4 mg Mn, 0.6–1.1 mg Cu and 370–490 kcal per 100 g. All chickpea products provided 7–23%, 7–40% and 52–78% of the total calories from protein, fat and carbohydrates respectively. The nutritional quality of all products except Halwa was adequate to meet the protein requirements of all age groups when compared with reference protein energy ratios.