I discovered pita bread and hummus when I was in Google Hyderabad. We had a salad bar with all these crunchy, fresh vegetables and a bowl of creamy hummus with warm, oven-fresh pita bread right next to it. It wasn’t really a popular choice since our lunch buffet had much more appealing dishes but practically every other day, I used to make a pita sandwich with some lettuce, tomato slices, cucumber and a generous spread of hummus.
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Those were the days that I could get hummus without going through the trouble of making it myself but now things are different. So last weekend, I set out to the task myself. My hummus came out really well and though next time I may blend it until creamy, I still didn’t mind the coarse texture of it this time.
One ingredient you will surely need is good-quality Tahini. I got mine from NTUC FairPrice in Singapore. I don’t remember the brand name now but tahini is definitely available here in Singapore.
If you want to prepare the hummus without tahini then you can avoid it, which will of course affect the flavour but the end product is still creamy and delicious. Sometimes, kids are allergic to tahini so follow the hummus recipe below but without tahini.
Ingredients:
Chickpeas – 1 cup, washed and soaked in water overnight or at least 8 hours
Tahini – 1/2 cup
Lemon juice – 1 tbsp
Garlic – 1/2 tsp, minced
Cumin / jeera / jeerakam – 1/2 tsp, crushed (I used cumin powder)
Salt – to taste
Olive oil / sesame oil – 1 tbsp
Instructions:
1. Wash the soaked chickpeas well and drain water completely.
2. Pressure cook until soft (3 whistles) in sufficient water. If you don’t have a pressure cooker, transfer the chickpeas to a pot and add water until it is well covered. Cook until the chickpeas are soft and mash easily. This should take about 30-40 mins. Do not add salt while cooking the chickpeas as this will harden them.
3. Drain the water used for chickpeas and keep aside. Blend the chickpeas until smooth, adding little water if too thick.
4. Add the rest of the ingredients (except oil) and continue to blend until you get a smooth, thick paste that is of spreading consistency. If too thick, add very little water at a time from the water used to cook the chickpeas.
5. Make sure you mix the oil in before serving!
I didn’t buy pita bread so I served it with some home made white bread.
aneesa F
hai nags,In Sha Allah try adding curd when u grind the chickpeas instead of water and find the taste!!!it wud be superup though it is a bit watery paste.
aneesa F
tahina can be prepared using white sesame seeds…just add how much u really want with a table spoon of any odourless oil or sesame oil and keep blending till u get a smooth paste like consistency…
Anonymous
Hi
can we prepare tahini at home, if yes please post the recipe…
Bani
I love hummus!
I eat it every weekend!
$10buckdinners
I tried the peanut butter version and did not like. Ick. I'll be following those with Tahini only, or going without. Peanut butter just didn't work for me. 🙁
Anonymous
what is tahini?
Anonymous
i recently came through a recipe that uses unsalted peanut butter instead of tahini, it was superb.