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HUMMUS
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Hummus is a dip made of chickpea paste and tahini (sesame seed paste), with flavorings such as olive oil, garlic, paprika, and lemon juice.
In Arabic and Hebrew, the word hummus is used to describe the dish, the paste and the chickpea itself. However, in Arabic the term hummus bi tahina refers specifically to hummus with tahini, not just the chickpea.
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Hummus with oil and lemon juice |
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Hummus is popular in various local forms throughout the Middle Eastern world. While it is commonly thought of as Greek, hummus is an Arabian (Middle Eastern) dish and not Greek at all. It is said that its origins trace back to the Sultan Saladin, a veteran of the Crusades, who enjoyed cooking as a pastime. His experiments with hummus purportedly resulted in the creation of the Sultan's Forty Spice variety, which spawned many imitations and has been a Middle Eastern favorite for centuries.
Hummus is often garnished with mushrooms, parsley, paprika, pine nuts, tomatoes, cucumber, thinly-sliced onions, or more chickpeas, and then drizzled with olive oil before serving. Hummus is traditionally scooped up with flatbread, but is increasingly popular as a dip for tortilla chips in non-Middle Eastern countries. Popular variations of Hummus include hummus ful - which is hummus topped with a paste made from fava beans boiled to softness and then crushed into a mush, hummus masubha/mashawsha - which is a mixture of hummus paste, warm chickpeas and tehina, hummus mahluta - which is a hummus paste covered with a combination of ful paste and warm chick peas. Hummus is also used as an appetizer dish to accompany main courses, as part of a meze, and as a dressing for falafel, Israeli salad, grilled chicken, and eggplant. The dish is extremely popular throughout the Middle East among all population groups.
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Hummus is relatively cheap to make with either dried or canned chickpeas. Dried chickpeas are usually soaked in water overnight then simmered for an hour or more. It is also possible to cook chickpeas in a pressure cooker without the pre-soaking. The cooked or canned chickpeas are ground, using a food processor or hand blender, with olive oil, lemon juice, and tahini. A bit of the water in which the chickpeas were boiled may be added to reach the desired consistency. Garlic, salt, parsley, onions, cumin, and/or chili powder may be added. For a softer texture, the skins can be removed from the chickpeas by using a strainer. |
Classic hummus, Yemeni dish |
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Hummus is a nutritious food, containing a large amount of protein, dietary fiber, iron, and (depending on the recipe) varying amounts of mono-unsaturated fat; it is suitable for vegetarians and vegans.
To make your own traditional hummus, combine the following in a food processor and blend until smooth.
2 cans of chickpeas, rinsed and drained 2 tbsp tahini 2 tbsp lemon juice (or to taste) 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 cup olive oil (or to taste)
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This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer) |
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