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delicious hummus with pita and crudites

Make Delicious Hummus - Easy and Fast

Place cooked chickpeas (garbanzo beans) in a food processor; add garlic, salt, lemon juice and a little red chilli powder (cayenne); blend until smooth, adding a little water, if needed. Add the tahini, a little water, and blend again till it becomes creamy and fluffy. Garnish with chili oil and crushed red pepper, some sliced olives and serve with warm pita and colorful crudites. Enjoy!
5 from 4 votes
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 0 minutes
Course Appetizer, Side Dish, Snack
Cuisine Mediterranean
Servings 4 people
Calories 115 kcal

Equipment

  • electric food chopper or food processor preferred; if not available, a manual food mill can be used too: also called Puran-Yantra - used for making Puran (for Puran Poli) and Srikhand
  • Pressure cooker preferred - if starting from dry beans

Ingredients
  

  • 1 1/2 cups Chickpeas - cooked, (unsalted preferred) from one 15 oz can, or 1/2 cup dry beans, soaked and cooked; also called Garbanzo beans; Kabuli Chana
  • 1/3 cup Chickpeas broth (may need a bit more) liquid from canned chickpeas, if unsalted; discard canning liquid from salted chickpeas -it has too much salt - use fresh water instead; if cooking from dry beans - use the cooking liquid
  • 2-3 cloves Garlic - minced / crushed - about 3/4 -1 tsp Can omit if you wish to avoid garlic
  • 1 tbsp Tahini (unsalted) Sesame-butter; if not available, see Recipe Notes for alternate directions, using 1 tbsp white (hulled) sesame seeds instead of prepared Tahini
  • 2 tbsp Lime/lemon juice - fresh preferred if not available, bottled juice is OK; if not available, use citric acid -1/8 tsp (adjust as needed)
  • 3/8 tsp Salt adjust as per taste preference
  • 1/4 tsp Red Chilli Powder adjust as per spiciness preference
  • 2 tsp Olive oil Extra-Virgin Olive Oil preferred; if not available, any other mild, edible oil OK: sesame oil, peanut oil, avocado oil, etc.
  • 1/8 tsp Dried Thyme - optional omit if not available; or use 1/2 tsp dried mint
  • 1 tsp Dried Parsley - optional omit if not available; fresh Parsley OK too - use 2 tsp, finely chopped

Garnish

  • 1 tbsp Sliced olives any kind: green, black, pimento stuffed, etc.
  • 1/2 tsp Chilli oil - optional omit if not available; see Recipe Notes for how to make your own chili oil; or add other edible oil and sprinkle a little paprika into the oil

Instructions
 

  • Peel and chop garlic
    garlic -peeled and chopped
  • Transfer drained chickpeas to chopper/food processor. Add chickpea broth (or water, if using salted canned chickpeas).
    Note: Follow the alternate procedure described in Recipe Notes if you do not have prepared Tahini
  • Add minced / crushed garlic.
  • Add seasonings: salt, red chilli powder and lime/lemon juice (use 1/8 tsp citric acid granules, if lemon juice is not available).
    Pulse blend first, to mix ingredients, then blend till smooth.
    added seasonings for making hummus
  • Add Tahini and oil; continue to blend until it becomes smooth and fluffy. (See Recipe Notes for using sesame seeds directly, instead of prepared Tahini.)
    You may need to add a little water, if it is too thick to process (up to 1-2 tbsp total: add only 1 tsp at a time, as needed)
    The Hummus should be thick and fluffy: it should not be pourable like a batter.
  • Mixture blended smooth. Ready to serve.
    blended hummus
  • Stir in: a pinch of thyme (or dried mint or parsley); alternatively, stir in 2 tsp of finely chopped fresh parsley.
    Shown here topped with chilli oil, crushed red pepper (chilli flakes) and sliced, pimento-stuffed green olives;
    Serve with Pita bread and crudités - bell pepper strips, carrot sticks , celery sticks
    See Recipe Notes for more serving ideas.
    Enjoy!
    served hummus with pita and crudites

If starting from dry beans: Need an extra 10 hours (mostly hands off) to soak and cook the dry beans

  • Rinse the beans - scrub gently to remove any surface dirt. Drain in a colander and transfer to a medium bowl. Add 1/2 cup water, cover and set aside overnight (about 6-8 hours).
  • The beans swell to more than double their size
  • Add 1/2 cup water and a bay leaf, broken into 2-3 pieces. Push the leaves under the beans; place on a rack in the pressure cooker, and cook for 25-30 min at full pressure. Let pressure release normally.
    add water and bay leaf- for pressure cooking
  • Place a colander over a bowl. Transfer the cooked chickpeas to the colander, the cooking liquid collected in the bowl is the chickpea broth, to be used while blending the ingredients to make Hummus. Remove the bay leaf pieces before making Hummus.

Notes

No Tahini available? Use Sesame Seeds instead:
  • Lightly roast 1 tbsp white sesame seeds (hulled) on a heated skillet for 1-2 min Do not over-roast. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
    • Brown sesame seeds OK too; do not use black sesame seeds
  • Boil 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan, or in a cup in the microwave.
  • Add 2 tbsp boiling water to the roasted sesame seeds in the bowl. Cover and set aside for 5 min.
  • Place the soaked sesame seeds, garlic and 1/2 cup of cooked chickpeas in the food processor and blend until smooth.
    • Add a little chickpea broth if the mixture becomes too stiff while processing. It should become fluffy while blending.
  • Now add the remaining chickpeas and seasonings and blend until smooth and fluffy.
  • Hummus is ready!
 
How to make chili oil:
  • In a small glass bowl or bottle, place 1 tsp red chilli powder (cayenne) - with good color
    • do not use old, dark colored chilli powder.
      • Kashmiri Chilli powder and Byadgi chilli powder are both excellent for color and flavor, and are not overly spicy
    • use Paprika if you want good color and flavor, but without the spicy-kick
      • do not use old, dark colored Paprika
    • you can also use crushed red pepper instead of chilli powder
      • the color will not be as intense as with chilli powder
    • you can also use 2-3 whole dried red chillies - break each into 2-3 pieces
  • add 2-3 tbsp edible oil - I like to use Peanut oil.
  • Stir, cover and set aside.
  • Chilli oil is ready to use in a couple of hours; the color and flavor will be better the next day
  • Keep the chilli oil away from direct sunlight -
    • it is good for 3-4 weeks at room temperature, possibly even longer.
      • I usually make a small batch ( 2-3 tbsp), then make more as needed.
    • If the oil begins to smell rancid, please discard!
 
Other ideas for serving Hummus:
  • Use as a spread for sandwiches, burgers, etc.
  • Spread on a tortilla before adding filling, when making quesadillas.
  • Spread on a tortilla/thin wrap; add finely shredded cheese (sharp cheddar is excellent), finely shredded lettuce, finely chopped pickled jalapenos; roll up tightly and slice, pinwheel style. Serve as an appetizer or snack.
 
Storing leftovers:
Refrigerator:
  • Place in a covered glass/ceramic container (avoid plastic)
    • Use within 2-3 days
      • Stir well and add fresh garnish before serving
Freezer:
  • Place in a shallow, covered glass/ceramic container (avoid plastic)
    • shallow container makes it easy to thaw
    • good for up to a month, possibly longer
  • To thaw frozen hummus:
    • Remove container from freezer, loosen the cover and set on the counter for about an hour.
      • stir, if thawed, to mix well.
      • if not yet thawed, place container in the microwave, and heat on defrost setting (30% power) for 3-4 min, till thawed and can be easily stirred.
      • Stir well, whipping it a little (with a whisk or a fork) and add fresh garnish before serving.
 

Nutrition

Calories: 115kcalCarbohydrates: 16gProtein: 5gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 255mgPotassium: 239mgFiber: 5gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 75IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 28mgIron: 1mg
Keyword Chickpeas, Garlic, lemon juice, lime juice, Mint, Olives, Sesame, Tahini, Thyme
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