Hummus recipe

Hummus is probably the most well known Arabic appetizers! The fame of this popular Middle Eastern dish has spread all over the globe. It’s famous to the point that if you do a simple google search, you will see all sorts of adaptations to this dish, from adding roasted red peppers to curry!

Most of these international recipes call for using canned chickpeas. However, the traditional way for preparing hummus uses dried chickpeas.  Today, I would like to share with you the traditional way for preparing this cosmopolitan dish, the way our grandmothers and before them their grandmothers prepared it! Besides being much cheaper, using dried chickpeas is much healthier as you avoid all the harmful chemical additives!

Hummus is delicious for breakfast along with falafel and foul mudamas and pickled green olives (click for recipe). Hummus is also yummy with grilled meat and chicken.  In addition to it’s great taste, Hummus is rich in zinc, phosphorus, iron and copper. It strengthens the immune system, our memory, bones and teeth. It also contributes to the building of heart, brain, muscle, and kidney tissue cells. Hummus prevents the buildup of cholesterol in the blood vessels, regulates blood sugar levels, and is a great antioxidant. It is also useful for those who suffer from the formation of kidney stones.

Hummus Recipe

Guest post prepared and submitted by Sawsan Al-Kayed.

Preparation time: 5 min               Cook time: 180 min

Ingredients:

Hummus:

½       kilo dried chickpeas
½       cup tahini (seasame paste)
¼       cup lemon juice
1         teaspoon salt

Lemony chili garlic sauce:

2        large cloves garlic
2        chili green pepper  (you can use some red chili for color)
2        tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Pinch of salt

Garnishing:

Chopped parsley
Olive oil
Paprika or summaq

How to make Hummus:

Hummus:

• Clean the chickpeas and soak them overnight in cold water (about 12-15 hours).

• Next day, drain the chickpeas and wash them.
• Put chickpeas in a large pot and cover with water, then and boil. As the chickpeas boil you will notice a white foam forming on the surface. Remove the foam with a spoon. After that, cover the pot and simmer the chickpeas over low heat for about 3 hours. Check from time to time to ensure that the water level doesn’t fall below the chickpeas. Add boiling water when needed. NOTE: If the boiling water level falls below the level of the chickpeas, you may end up with dry chickpeas. So be careful and keep your eye on the water.

• Simmer chickpeas until they are well cooked. To test if ready, squeeze the chickpea between your fingers, it should be very soft and easily mashed. 
• Reserve about a cup of the chickpea stew.
• In the food processor adapted with a blade, add half the boiled chickpeas, half the tahini, half the salt, half the lemon juice, and quarter cup chickpea stew. Process for 7-10 minutes until you have a smooth and creamy mixture. Set aside covered.

• Add the remaining amount of chickpeas, tahini, salt, lemon, and a quarter cup of water from the boiled chickpeas. And process.

• When I finish processing the whole hummus quantity, I repeat the process and pulse th hummus mixture again to ensure I get the smoothest paste possible!  Also, to get a very smooth and white hummus paste, I add about 3-4 ice cubes to the whole quantity of the paste as I am processing it for the second time (add the ice to the processor along with the humus paste and pulse).

• Taste the hummus paste to see if there is a need to add salt or lemon or tahini. Note: You can add 2 garlic cloves to the hummus mixture, but I do not like to add garlic as it doesn’t store well in the fridge and leaves an aftertaste in the hummus, I prefer adding the lemony chili garlic sauce when serving.

How to make the Lemony Chili Garlic Sauce:

• Put the garlic and chili pepper in a blender adapted with a blade, and pulse. Then add the lemon and salt. Note: You can add some red chili for color.

Garnishing:

• The traditional way to serve hummus is to arrange it in the serving plate and then garnish it.  You can garnish it with any one or more of the following: chopped parsley, paprika, summaq, lemony garlic chili sauce, and olive oil. 

Hope you enjoyed today’s easy recipe: Hummus; an authentic Middle Eastern dish. Bon appetite.

Note: You can store hummus in the freezer. Divide the paste in nylon bags and freeze. Remove from freezer, several hours before you want to consume it.  you can also defrost it in the microwave.

اضغط الرابط لقراءة وصفة الحمص باللغة العربية

Sawsan Al-Kayed: I am a cook addict who loves to prepare Arabic and Middle Eastern dishes especially the old traditional dishes. My love of cooking started at an early age; I always helped my mother in the kitchen and learned a lot from her. The first dish I cooked was for my dad when I was 10 years old. Even when I was a full-time bank employee, I found refuge in my kitchen and always read the latest cookbooks and watched the cooking channels. I believe that if you love cooking, you’ll find it easy and fun.