Hummus - Mediterranean Dip

Mediterranean cuisine comprises of food from 21 countries that surround the Mediterranean Sea such as Italy, France, Spain, Greece, Egypt, Turkey, Levant (Cyprus, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria), and various other countries adjacent to the Mediterranean sea. 

So many countries and so much variety isn't it :) One of the first few dishes I tried from the Mediterranean cuisine was this humble dip called Hummus. Its is simple to make and simply delicious to eat. It goes great with freshly made pita breads. 

My attempt of pita bread dint work great this time hence I simply bought a pack of French brown bread and enjoyed my hummus :)  

I'm sure you would get tempted to try it out too after you go through the simple ingredients list :)

Recipe adapted from My Jhola. 

Ingredients:

Chickpeas (Channa) - 1 cup

Sesame seeds - 1 tblsp

Sesame oil - 1/2 tblsp

Garlic - 4 pods

Lemon juice - 1 tblsp

Olive oil - 1/4 cup

Salt - to taste

Cumin seed powder and chili powder to sprinkle on top

Method:

Soak chickpeas in water over night. 

Cook the soaked chickpeas until tender. 

Dry roast the sesame seeds until light brown. Allow it to come to room temperature. 

Now grind chickpeas, sesame seeds, olive oil, sesame oil, garlic, lemon juice and salt together into a smooth paste. 

Hummus is ready to serve. 

Collect the hummus in a large serving bowl, make a well in the center and add olive oil liberally and sprinkle cumin seed powder and chilly powder. Serve with hot pita bread or any bread of your choice and enjoy :)

Tips:

If you have ready made tahini you can simply skip using sesame seeds and sesame oil and replace it with 2 tblsp of tahini to make your hummus. 

You can store hummus in an air tight container for about 10 days if kept in the fridge. 

Written by: Nithya
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