Hummus

Hummus . . . a creamy, garlicky, lemony,  protein-packed dip.

The word hummus is the Arabic word for chickpea (also known as a garbanzo bean).  In fact, this dip is technically called hummus bi tahini, meaning chickpeas with tahini. Hummus can be as easy as opening a can of chickpeas and blending it with a few other ingredients.  You can get somewhat decent hummus that way, but you will never get silky-smooth hummus.To  get that really fresh flavor and smooth texture, the best thing to do is use dried chickpeas, soak them for 8-12 hours, boil them until tender, and then make hummus right on the spot, with the hot chickpeas.  

One more thing.While yogurt might not be the most traditional ingredient in hummus, it will make your hummus velvety and creamy.  For more authentic hummus, just add extra cooking water, but I find that just a tablespoon or two of yogurt makes for a lovely smooth and creamy hummus.

Hummus

Hummus

Serve: 4 pax
Preparation Time: 20 mins

Soaking Time: 8 hrs

Cooking Time: 10 mins

Ingredients:

1. Boiled chickpeas: 2 cups
2. Tahini: 1/4 cup 
3. Lemon juice: 6 tbs
4. Minced Garlic: 1.5 tbs (You can vary it as per your taste)
5. Yogurt: 2 tbs
6. Salt: as per taste
7. Extra Virgin Olive oil: 1/4 cup
8. Chopped Parsley: 1 tbs
9. Paprika powder: 1/2 tsp (Optional)
10. Red Pepper: for garnish(Optional)

Procedure:

1. Pour Tahini and lemon juice into your food processor and pulse until creamy and pale in color. 
2. Add salt, and pasted garlic to your lemon-tahini sauce.
3. Pour chickpeas and sauce into a food processor and blend until well incorporated.  Add yogurt and Olive oil process again for another minute.
4. Let this all run in your food processor until silky smooth, for a couple of minutes. 
5. Refrigerate for a couple of hours for best flavor.
6. Serve drizzled with olive oil, and any of the following:  sprinkled with paprika and cumin, and garnished with chickpeas, olives, pickles, or parsley.   

Notes: Use Hot chickpeas because each chickpea has a little skin on them. Freshly boiled chickpeas' skins are soft and will break down in the food processor, to make a silky smooth hummus.  But if you used cooled (and especially canned) chickpeas, the skins will have hardened and your hummus will have a grainy texture.