Homemade Hummus Recipe - Make Hummus at Home
Hummus bi Tahna is a dip, spread, or savoury dish made from cooked, mashed chickpeas blended with tahini, lemon juice, and garlic. When we talk about it Meze always comes to mind.
Meze or mezze is a selection of small dishes served in the Middle East and the Balkans.
The word Meze in Turkish means “taste, flavour, snack, relish” and has been borrowed from Persian. Meze is also an integral part of Lebanese cuisine.
Is hummus good for you?
Hummus is naturally high in good fat because of its sesame seed and olive oil content. It is low in carbohydrates and is also a fairly good source of plant-based protein and fibre.
I recently read one of the blogs stating, “If you go into someone’s home in Lebanon and they offered a drink – but no bowl of nuts or seeds … you should just get up and leave immediately”.
It’s a given that meze is a serious business in the Middle East & its decadent cuisine.
The most famous and widely propagated part of meze are dips like “Hummus” & “Labneh“. Hummus actually translates to “Chickpeas” (or Kabuli Chana or Garbanzo Beans) which indeed are the main ingredient.
What is the base for hummus?
Kabuli Chana or Garbanzo Beans (chickpeas) are at the base of this recipe. The softened beans breakdown into a smooth paste. You can simply boil chana (chickpeas) at home and use it for better results rather than the canned variety.
The second at the base ingredient is tahini or a paste made from ground sesame seeds. You can buy tahini at the store or you can make it yourself. In the absence of tahini, you can create a chickpea dip, I just would not call it the real thing.
What does hummus taste like?
Hummus tastes like an awesome creamy paste that’s oozing with rich and tantalising umami flavours. It has a melt-in-your-mouth consistency that tastes really rich and garlicky. While it tastes like nothing else in the world, its texture resembles that of mayonnaise and other creamy spreads.
I have been enamoured with this silky smooth umami hummus for a long time now and it is an essential, unavoidable, has-to-be-there, dip for all my parties. It has always been appreciated by all and needless to say (but I will still say it) that I can eat it by the bowl.
On the other hand, I have also been through blasphemous moments when hummus has been referred to as a “chickpea or chana paste”. Gosh!! That’s too cruel for such a wonderful creation.
How can I use hummus?
Hummus bi tahina can be snacked on by itself or as as a dip for almost anything, including nuts, vegetables, meats and pita bread and crisps. Simply, scrape it into a serving bowl or platter, and use a spoon to create nice swooshes on top. Top with garnishes of your choice, and serve.
This recipe shows how to get it right and glam up your snacks or dinner table.
How To Make Smooth Hummus from Scratch?
The essential trick for making it super smooth from scratch is in its blending. So, blend away patiently. Apart from this you can remove the skins from the boiled chickpeas and add a little hung curd or greek yoghurt as well.
This does mean that you’ll have to cook the chickpeas yourself. To do this you just need to give them a good overnight soak. Boil them in water the next day. Actually, you should overcook them a bit to get them really softened. You can add some baking soda as well as a lot of chefs do.
Do I Need To Peel The Chickpeas?
Chickpea skins are edible, but if you want creaminess in your hummus, you can peel the chickpeas and discard the skins.
Sometimes I don’t peel the chickpeas, and that doesn’t change the taste, it only makes my hummus a bit rustic. But peeling each chickpea is a good but labour intensive trick for getting the smoothness in your hummus.
Can I avoid Tahini?
This recipe definitely needs tahini. However, all is not lost if you can’t get tahini. Simply leave it out and increase the quantity of extra virgin olive oil. If you are not too focused on the flavour, you can also use some nut-based butter such as cashew, almond, or even peanut butter. It will compensate but it won’t be the real thing for sure.
Recipe Card - Homemade Hummus Bi Tahina Recipe
How to make my really easy hummus recipe with canned chickpeas, za’atar spice, garlic, tahini, and olive oil.
Hummus - An Easy Recipe for Homemade Hummus
Ingredients
- 2 Cup Chickpeas Kabuli Chana or Garbanzo Beans 1/2 cup raw chickpeas yield 2 cups after boiling
- 5 pieces Fresh Garlic whole
- 5 pieces Fresh Garlic minced
- 5 tablespoons Tahini sesame seed paste (I used Koska)
- 2 teaspoons Cumin Powder Broiled (You can broil it on a pan)
- 4 tablespoons Lemon Juice Freshly squeezed
- 0.25 teaspoon Pimento or Cherry Pepper For Garnish
- 0.25 teaspoon Za’atar Spice For Garnish
- 9 tablespoons Cooking Liquid Save after boiling chickpeas
- 7 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Instructions
- Get your ingredients ready for homemade hummus.
- Soak the chickpeas/ Kabuli chana/ garbanzo beans overnight or about 15-18 hours in 2 cups of water.
- Drain the water and rinse the chickpeas thoroughly.
- Add the chickpeas and 5 whole cloves to a pressure cooker and give six (6) whistles. Let the pressure subside by itself. This really speeds up the cooking process.
- Drain and reserve the cooking liquid (very important for that deep flavour).
- Add tahini and half of lemon juice to your food processor and fluff it up. Blend it at least for a minute.
- Next, add the minced garlic, broiled cumin powder and salt to taste and blend really well once again.
- Add the boiled chickpeas, and five (5) tablespoons of olive oil and process. Ensure that you blend it really well so that the paste is nice and smooth.
- Blend well till you get a really silken paste. I have to say this again and again. Though, If you like your hummus a little grainier, blend a little less and stop at a prior coarser paste.
- Plate it in a flat plate or a similar bowl. Move your spatula to make uneven surfaces and drizzle with the remaining olive oil.
- Garnish it with pimento, and za’atar spice and refrigerate till it cools down.
- Serve your homemade hummus with your chosen snack.
Notes
- I recommend overcooking the chickpeas a bit to slightly soften the chickpeas and loosen up the skins.
- The chickpeas upon boiling will become really soft and break easily between two fingers.
- You may choose to remove the skin as some people in the blogosphere suggest, though it is not essential and saves a lot of time as well.
- Blending really well is the key to that perfect hummus bi tahina.
- To get the right consistency while blending hummus add five (5) tablespoons of olive oil really slow to the container followed by nine (9) tablespoons of the reserved cooking liquid. You may adjust the quantity as per your requirement, however, do bear in mind that the paste will get thicker with time so in my opinion, a little more of cooking liquid will not harm much.
FINALLY, TO SUM IT UP
Hummus is a world popular dip, spread, or savoury dish made from cooked, mashed chickpeas blended with tahini, lemon juice, and garlic. You can simply snack on by itself or as as a dip for almost anything including your kababs, roasted chicken and even just pita bread or chips.
Make this a part of your mezze evening alongside other small plates and have a good time. It reigns supreme.
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