Hummus/ creamy chickpea paste

Hummus is a dip or spread made from cooked, mashed chickpeas or other beans, blended with tahini (white sesame/til paste) , olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and garlic. It is popular in the Middle East and Mediterranean, as well as in Middle Eastern cuisine around the globe. Flavors can be added according to your taste to make hummus of your taste eg. Parsley, pepper. Different parts of middle-east prepares different types of hummus which differs slightly in their taste eg. some prepare tangy or sweet or do not add tahini. This is my version, the version which I had in Israel. Hummus can also be served with pita and falafel.

Course: Dip or dressing for salads

Cuisine: (Israeli) Middle Eastern

Preparation time: 20 mins

Cook time: 20 mins

Servings: 16-17

Ingredients

• 3 cups of cooked chickpeas
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½  cup lemon juice (use fresh)
• 4-5 cloves of garlic roughly chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt or salt to taste
• 1 cup tahini
• 1 teaspoon of ground cumin
• 2 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil +  extra if you like

Directions

1. Soak the chickpeas for 6 hours to overnight.
2. Take the chickpeas in a pressure cooker, then add the baking soda. Cook the chickpeas till you see the skin falling off.
3. Strain the chickpeas and run cold water to remove all the baking soda.
4. In a blender, combine the lemon juice, garlic and salt. Process until the garlic forms a paste, then let the mixture rest such that the garlic flavor can be infused, about 10 minutes.
5. Add the tahini to the blender to form a smooth and creamy mixture.
6. Add the cumin and the chickpeas to the blender. While blending, add the olive oil.
7. Blend until the mixture is extremely smooth, scraping down the sides of the processor as necessary, about 2 minutes. Add more water if necessary to achieve a creamy texture.
8. Taste, and adjust the salt and lemon juice as necessary.
9. Scrape the hummus into a serving bowl or plate. Top with garnishes of your choice, and serve.

Notes

1. You can garnish with parsley, red pepper powder or drizzle of olive oil.
2. Leftover hummus can be stored in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 1 week.

Tahini for the hummus

1. Take 1 cup of seeds and toss it in a pan till it becomes brown and aromatic (I prefer using white sesame seeds)
2. In a blender add the sesame seeds with olive oil and blend till it becomes smooth.
3. Add oil till you achieve pouring consistency.

Variation

You can prepare parsley flavored hummus by adding chopped parsley to the above recipe while blending. You can also add pepper if you like it hot.