Hummus - a deliciously healthy Mediterranean dip

Travelling and staying away from the comfort zones of food one grew up with is a nice growing up experience. It expands your horizons and makes you try things you wouldn't normally have tried otherwise. As I look at my repertoire for food (both what I eat outside and what I make at home) I feel blessed to have had these experiences in life. When I first ventured out of home, I hardly ate anything and preferred biting into some non descript stale food over going into a restaurant I hadn't heard of. I am thankful to BH for slowly coaxing me into taking a small bite at a time and now I am confident of experimenting with unknown cuisines. Also I think my inhibition was mainly from being a staunch vegetarian, I was very wary that I wouldn't find veggie choices in most places. In all fairness, it was true to a large degree especially a decade or so back when we first moved out of India. I have had to explain what a vegetarian plate would not have (no meat, no chicken, no fish, no seafood) over what it should have. Things have changed and I notice that people are more aware of vegetarianism and it is becoming an accepted way of eating food after all.

I have also learnt over the years that vegetarian options are available in every cuisine of the world if you are only open to trying something that may not taste like the regular curry you are used to at home. I love Mediterranean food for the plethora of choices it offers, most of it is very healthy (try not to think baklava with layers of philo dough and oodles of butter :-)) and this cuisine has remained one of my favorite eat out options when we travel.

I made some Mediterranean meal at home over the weekend and as usual will share my joy of achieving this restaurant quality, home made dishes with you here.

Hummus is a very popular Mediterranean spread or dip (depending on how you use it) found in almost everyday meals in the region. Depending on the part of region, this versatile dish will have its variations in the ingredients used though the basic ingredient remains constant - cooked, mashed chickpeas. This very healthy, fiber and iron rich dish allows you to customize its taste depending on your pantry supplies and your taste buds. One of the other common names you will see in all Hummus recipes is 'Tahini' or sesame paste which is nothing but toasted sesame seeds ground to paste with olive oil.

If you are trying Hummus for the first time and not inclined to make large amounts of Tahini or are just making a small batch, go ahead and powder the roasted sesame seeds and add it into Hummus while grinding.

What do you need to make Hummus? 
2 cups cooked garbanzo beans/kabuli chana/white chick peas
1 Tblsp Tahini paste (see below for recipe)
1 Tsp salt (adjust to taste)
1 Tblsp lemon juice
1 clove garlic (see notes)
1 inch piece jalepeno/anaheim pepper - deseeded
2.5 Tblsp olive oil - divided use
1 Tblsp chopped parsley
1/8 Tsp baking soda (only if using dry chickpeas)

Tahini paste

• Dry roast 2 Tblsp of white sesame seeds in a hot pan for 2-3 minutes until the sesame seeds start to glisten with the oil. Take out and let cool. 
• Grind it into a paste with a Tblsp of olive oil. 
• If you are making Tahini paste in big batches, you can also microwave the sesame seeds, spread in a single layer in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 2-4 minutes with breaks after every 1 minute or so. 

How do you make Hummus? 

• If you are going to soak the dry chick peas, follow the next 2 steps. If you are going to use the canned, boiled chick peas, skip the next 2 steps. 
• Soak the chick peas (1 cup of dry chick peas will yield about 1.5 cups of soaked and cooked peas) overnight in plenty of water.
• Drain the water, wash the soaked peas and pressure cook them until soft (3 whistles in my pressure cooker) with 1/8 Tsp baking soda.
• If using canned chickpeas, pour out the preserving liquid and wash the peas thoroughly under running water. 
• Take all the ingredients listed except for olive oil, lemon juice and parsley to a food processor or blender and pulse them until they turn crumbly. 
• Add the lemon juice and about a Tblsp olive oil and blend it to get a nice soft and thick puree. 
• At this stage the hummus can be refrigerated in an air tight box for about a week. 
• To serve, scoop out spoonfuls of hummus into a bowl or plate and pour the remaining olive oil on top and garnish with chopped parsley. 

Notes: 

• I find parsley to be much milder than cilantro (talk about my Indian seasoned tongue), so I sometimes cheat and garnish with chopped cilantro instead :-)
• What I have above is a pretty basic version of Hummus and you can jazz it up by adding other herbs such as thyme, chive, mint, oregano or basil and also add other ingredients such as sun dried pepper, sun dried tomatoes, roasted onions etc. Make this dip your own by adapting it to suit your taste. 
• As you can see from above, the amount of garlic I add is very low given my limited tolerance to garlic. Garlic lovers can bump up this ingredient to make it really garlicky. 
• Adding a small piece of deseeded jalapeno enhances the flavor and also makes the hummus look pretty with small green flecks contrasting the pale yellow of the chickpeas. 
• If you like a really smooth textured Hummus, peel the chickpeas and discard the outer covering before grinding them. We like the slightly grainy texture when using it as a dip which is what I did this weekend and hence didn't peel the skin off. 
• The shelf life of Hummus can be extended by grinding it sans water, use the lemon juice and olive oil instead.

Serving suggestions: 

• Traditionally Hummus is served with either fresh baked soft pita bread or the baked pita chips as a dip. 
• Hummus is also used generously in Mediterranean wraps or sandwiches as a spread. 
• You can serve this healthy dip with your chips or sliced vegetables as an appetizer. 

Spicy Baked Chickpeas - Blog Hopping and a snack with evening Tea (or coffee)

Snacks - there is something extremely enthralling about this genre of food, kids and adults alike love it over regular food, yes that is how it is at my home. Lot of people associate snacks with deep frying but there are loads and loads of low calorie, low fat snacks you can create without the sizzling oil.

Roasted or fried chick peas (garbanzo beans) are a snack from childhood. You would see these spicy, crunchy peas in most of Mysore and Bengaluru's bakeries filled in those plastic, transparent jars in the front, inviting you to try them on. Believe me, they are addictive. You cannot stop eating a fistful especially when the spices are just right.

When I got Radhika's email with the BHW-17 details, I went to Tasty Curry leaf by Sweatha to choose my recipe. She has been blogging for a while now and has a wide variety of desi and international food recipes. I didn't have to search long or hard to pick what I was sure me and my family would enjoy.  I loved the baked chickpeas recipe she has on the blog as soon as I saw it. These turned out delicious with our evening tea.

Here I am with spicy baked chickpeas for my second Blog Hop Wednesday.

What do you need for Baked Chick peas? 
1 cup dry garbanzo beans/chick peas
1 Tsp cooking oil
1 Tsp salt (adjust to taste)
1/2 Tsp Turmeric powder
1/4 Tsp asafoetida powder
1 Tsp red chilly powder

How do you make Spicy baked chick peas? 

• Soak the beans over night in 4 cups of water, let them plump up.
• Wash and drain water from the beans, cook them with salt until just soft. I used my pressure cooker and switched it off after two whistles.
• Drain the beans, spread it on a towel or tissue paper and let it air dry. Pat dry them if your tea time is creeping up on you :-) 
• Pre-heat the oven to 400F.
• Take the cooked beans to a bowl, add oil, spice powders and mix it well. 
• Spread it on a baking sheet in a single layer and bake for 30-35 minutes. 
• Let it stand for a few minutes and serve warm, crunchy, spicy chick peas with your tea/coffee/milk... 

Notes:

• Sweatha gives you a free hand on the spices to add, I used the ones I like, you have the choice to try garam masala or any other spice that is your favorite.
• Addition of turmeric and asafoetida gives the baked beans a wonderful aroma and flavor. 
• Sweatha mentions you can use the canned garbanzo beans, I stayed away as some of the brands have really mushy garbanzos which do not work well with the baking part. 
• Make sure you cook the beans just soft and watch the baking time as it depends on your baking sheet, oven temperature and the amount of chick peas you are baking. Mine were done in 35 minutes. 

Here goes my baked chick peas to Radhika's Blog Hop Wednesdays