Easy Hummus with Sesame Seeds

The highlight of an evening gathering is the food. Let’s face it and be honest, who doesn’t want good food at a party! I know, I do! And if there are dips, to heap those chips and swirl the veggies in, even better. And a healthy dip is the best. Hummus to me is the king of dips, it’s yummy, smooth deliciousness comes in close to its healthy goodness. Best of all, you can make it at home without Tahini. Really!

Hummus has middle eastern and Arabic origins. The word ‘hummus‘ means chickpeas in Arabic. Today hummus has become so popular that even Italian restaurants serve it with bread as a snack. The full name for the dip is hummus bi tahini, which translates into hummus with tahini.

I’ve loved store bought hummus for a while but eventually I wanted to make some at home. Being Indian, and someone who cooks, I always have chickpeas in my pantry. So why not cook them into hummus?
When I realized I would need tahini to get the taste right, I had to figure out how to make that too. So this is what I do to make hummus at home, its quick and easy, with some preparation and tastes delicious.

Ingredients For Hummus without Tahini

• Chickpeas, approximately a cup and a half (1 & 1/2),
• Sesame seeds, hulled, about 1/4 cup (or use 1/4 cups of store bought Tahini),
• Extra virgin olive oil, 4 table spoons,
• Garlic cloves, 5-6,
• Salt and pepper to taste,
• Green chillies, 2 – a word of caution, put them in only if you enjoy your food really hot,
• 2 tbsps Lime juice (limes are sour, use lemons if you prefer a milder flavour).

Process:

Wash the chickpeas in running water and soak them in twice the amount ie for one and a half cup of chickpeas add three cups of water. Let them soak overnight. If there is an emergency, forgo this step and steam the chickpeas longer than usual. Soaked chickpeas need to be steamed for at least 30 to 45 minutes. While steaming pulses and beans the general norm is to add salt. If you do so, then there is no need to add any later on. Let the chickpeas cool down.

Peel garlic pods and keep them ready.

For the Tahini, roast the sesame seeds either until you can smell the fragrance. If you are using hulled sesame seeds, which are white, roast them until a light brown. Grind the sesame seeds along with olive oil. Since everything has to be blended together you can at this stage add the steamed chickpeas, garlic and green chillies (optional) to the sesame seeds and oil. Or swap the task of roastig sesame seeds with store bought ready to use Tahini. 

Blend the mixture until it has a grainy but even consistency.

Add some olive oil at the end and mix in. I love a dash of lime juice for additional tanginess. Use lemons if you prefer it mild.

This is it, pour it out into a jar or scoop it onto a plate and enjoy!

This recipe is for basic hummus. Feel free to add in your favourites like cilantro or even roasted red peppers. You can also garnish hummus with finely chopped roasted red peppers and garlic, arrange them in a ring, pour some olive oil and you have a beautiful bowl of hummus.

Get a bowl of sliced cucumbers, baby carrots, nachos or good old pita bread and scoop and dip away into this gorgeous Hummus!