Hummus حُمُّص
I was inspired to make hummus after having really good hummus at a Turkish restaurant. Besides, many healthy recipes also uses Middle Eastern dip, hummus as spreads for falafel wraps or as a dip to be paired with chips or vegetable sticks like carrots and cucumber. Also, it’s vegan-friendly and really easy to make if you know the right proportion of ingredients to use. Making hummus has also brought back some good memories where I picked up basic Arabic in university as I was really intrigued by the Middle Eastern culture that seem all too mysterious yet beautiful.
Canned chickpeas or chickpea flour?
Previously, I tried using chickpea flour to make hummus but it was a disastrous attempt for me as the hummus has this very ‘raw’ and powdery unpleasant taste. Though it might be possible to use chickpea flour instead of the actual cooked chickpeas or garbanzo beans, I decide that I would have to buy those canned chickpeas is used in most of the recipes I found online. Canned chickpeas are cooked chickpeas that have been soaked in sodium water.
You could purchase the raw garbanzo beans but you will need to cook and soak it for a few hours until it’s softened and ready-to-eat. But the whole process of cooking and soaking in cold and hot water can be very tedious.But, of course, nothing beats cooking everything from scratch as it does not contain anything else but garbanzo beans.
Nutritional Value
Garbanzo beans are loaded with a high amount of dietary fibre and it’s a great source of protein especially for vegetarians or vegans. It also contains iron which is so important for menstruating women and growing children as iron is one of the key component in the make-up of the red blood cells. The lemon juice in the hummus also adds a good dose of vitamin C.
Hummus Recipe
One of the better and easy-to-follow recipes I found online was from Inspired Taste where they shared a really important tip on how to create a really creamy hummus but simply blending the lemon juice with Tahini first before adding in anything else. True indeed! The order of ingredients as to which ingredients was added in first makes the world of a difference!
However, the recipe I provided below was slightly adjusted according to my taste and preference as I like my hummus to be a little more on the savoury side. As such, I added a little more salt and cumin. All in all, creating this rich,cream and high in fibre hummus with a distinct hint of the Middle Eastern flavour. It’s the cumin powder that brought me closer to the Arabic world.
The Ingredients:
1 Can of Chickpeas (soaked in water) (400 grams)
4 tablespoons of lemon juice
4 tablespoons of Tahini ( Sesame paste)
2 tablespoons of Olive oil
1/2 of a small garlic clove
1 teaspoon of Himalayan salt
1 teaspoon of cumin powder
4 tablespoons of water
The Tools:
A powerful blender/ food processor
( It is highly recommended that you use a food processor to make hummus as it is easier to scoop out the hummus.)
1. Add lemon juice and Tahini into the food processor and blend till it’s creamy.
2. Then add finely-chopped garlic, olive oil and chickpeas into the food processor.
3. Run the food processor for about a minute till everything is well combined and blender together.
4. If it’s too dry, add in some water to thin out the consistency.
5. Finally, add in some salt and cumin for a touch of flavour. You can adjust the amount of cumin and salt added according to your own liking.
6. Run the food processor for about another minute to achieve that smooth creamy consistency.
7. Drizzle some olive oil on top of the hummus.
8. Serve the hummus dip with some sliced cucumber sticks,carrots or crackers.
*Note: If you dislike that raw garlic taste, you could choose not to add into the hummus or add about a quarter of the garlic clove. To finish this side dish off, you can also sprinkle some paprika over the hummus. This is usually how they served it at Middle Eastern restaurants.
