No mezze is complete without a bowl of Hummus, Falafels and some warm Pita bread. Hummus is a traditional middle-eastern dip or spread made of chickpeas (did you know Hummus means chickpeas in Arabic?). Hummus has been one of my favourite dishes made of protein-packed chickpeas ever since I first had it with Falafel and Pita.
What I love is that it is an easy to make, no hassles dish – sometimes I just use leftover cooked chickpeas to make some hummus which we have as a dip with salad, falafels or chips on weekend evenings at home. It is the perfect healthy and tasty snack – creamy, satisfying and packed with plant-based protein. So lets start learning how to make this perfect snack!
- Times
- Description
- Image
- Ingredients
- Method
- Notes
- Nutrition
View Print Layout
Ingredients
- 3 cups chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
- 3-4 cloves garlic, mashed or roughly chopped
- ½ cup tahini (tahini is a rich and smooth paste made from roasted sesame seeds and olive oil)
- Juice of 1 lemon
- Salt, as per taste
- ¼ cup extra Virgin Olive Oil
Method
- 1)
Soak the chickpeas overnight in water. Drain and pressure-cook to boil the chickpeas with 1 tsp of salt for about 10 mins.
- 2)
If you don’t want to soak the chickpeas overnight, you can do a quick soak by pouring boiling water onto dry chickpeas, letting them soak for one hour, then draining and pressure-cooking.
- 3)
Once the chickpeas are boiled, strain them so that no water is left in the chickpeas. Make sure to save the drained out water for blending in later.
- 4)
In a food processor or blender combine the chickpeas, tahini, olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, salt and 2-3 tbsp of water saved while draining boiled chickpeas. Process until smooth.
- 5)
Transfer it into a serving bowl and sprinkle some paprika, a swirl of olive oil, toasted pine nuts or sesame seeds and chopped parsley.
- 6)
Now our tasty dip is ready and can be served with pita chips, sliced pita bread, raw veggies like carrots, red bell pepper, cucumber or we can have it with some hot falafels.
I love this traditional way but if I am in the mood for something different, I usually turn to one of these variations – roasted bell pepper hummus or beetroot hummus.
For a nutty and smoky style hummus, blend in one roasted bell pepper and ½ tsp of smoked paprika along with the other ingredients as mentioned above to make some bell pepper hummus!
And for turning it pink, make a beetroot hummus by roasting one medium sized beetroot until it softens and then blend it along with the other ingredients. I love the way the beetroot hummus tastes – it is slightly sweet with a vibrant pink colour. Its colour really excites me!
Notes
Use fresh chickpeas instead of canned ones.
To make the hummus smooth, slightly overcook the chickpeas so that it loosens up their skin so you can remove the skin before blending the chickpeas.
If you blend the hummus for a few extra minutes, it works wonders – you will get a perfectly creamy, light and whipped texture.
Add cold water (from boiled chickpeas) while blending to ensure that your hummus has a smooth texture or if it seems too thick.
