Taking The Middle Eastern Route

All of us go through days when we have absolutely nothing to do, and that’s when we decide that ‘let’s do something different today’. Some people paint, some watch a movie, some go through old stuff, some people catch up with friends and some people cook. Well I fall in the last category of people. I usually don’t cook as I don’t get the time and on top of that I’m a lazy ass but when I have some free time on my hand and some energy in my body I feel like trying my hand at something different.  So yesterday was one such day and me and my flatmate decided to make –HUMUS.  And since we relished It, I decided to share the experience here on my space. So here’s how the recipe goes:-

INGREDIENTS:-

• 250 grams dried chickpeas
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3 tablespoonslight tahini paste
• 4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 8 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 6½ cups ice-cold water

   

 

PREPARATION:- 

1. Put chickpeas in a large bowl and cover it with cold water at least twice their volume. Leave it to soak overnight. ( Or If you plan to make it the same day like me then you need to soak it at least for 10-12 hours)
2. Drain the chickpeas after 12 hours. Wash them nicely with cold water and remove the froth floating over it.
3. Put the drained chickpeas in a medium saucepan along with 6 cups of fresh water and put it on high heat. Let it boil for 30-45 minutes. Cook at a simmering pace, skimming off any foam on the surface. Once done, they should be very tender, breaking easily when pressed between your thumb and finger.
4. Drain the chickpeas. Place the chickpeas in a food processor and process until you get a stiff paste. Slowly drizzle in half a cup of ice water and allow it to mix for about 5 minutes, until you get a very smooth and creamy paste. Then, add tahini paste, lemon juice, garlic and salt in the respective quantities mentioned above and process it for 2-3 minutes.
5. Transfer it to a bowl and have it along with pita bread or whole wheat crackers. (I chose the crackers.)Also, you can add olive oil over it once you put it in the bowl to add a little more smoothness and taste. (I chose not to. Honestly! I forgot to buy olive oil, that’s why. Otherwise I would have definitely added it.)

P.S:  some people add baking soda to the chickpeas in the saucepan but I chose not to as it’s healthier this way. And trust me! The end result was great.  So you don’t need the baking soda and you end up eating a nice healthy meal. If you end up getting inspired by my amateur cooking skills and photographs and try it out by any chance, let me know how it goes 😉