Thursday, September 13, 2012

Health Fix: Hummus (With and Without a Blender)

I dream of hummus. Smooth, creamy, packed with proteins, so easy to make, and so many ways to make it. This is going to be a looooong post :P I can't stop experimenting and trying new flavours and ingredients.

1. Chunky Hummus - No blender

I used to make this as a student in the Netherlands, when I didn't have a blender or food processor in my dorm. The easiest way to make it was with canned chickpeas. I made it my own way, with garlic and yogurt. 


Microwave the chickpeas in a bowl for about 30 seconds. This makes them easier to mash with a fork.
Mash it as much as you can - put all your strength into this! The smoother the better, but it will obviously stay a little chunkier than normal.


I don't have an oven in my kitchen, but I love the sweet, nutty flavour of roasted garlic in hummus. I wasn't sure how to roast garlic without an oven, so I just decided to cook it in olive oil a bit. Heat a little bit of oil in a pan, when it is warm but not too hot, throw in chopped garlic and cook until slightly browned and soft and fragrant.


Pour the oil and cooked garlic into the mashed hummus. Add a squirt of lemon juice. Mix well.


One dollop of creamy yogurt (Greek is best), mix everything together and voila! Student version of hummus.


Make in excess, store in an airtight container in the fridge for quick eating with pita bread or tortillas.

2. Basic Hummus - With a blender (mixer)


My three gems of flavour - green chilli, garlic, and lemon. Yes! That's a lemon! Out of nowhere, a tree started growing in our kitchen garden that had big lemons on it - almost four times the size of normal lemons. We cut one open, and it looked like an orange - but trust me, the juice and taste is exactly like a lemon. I have no idea whether this is a cousin variety.. But its darn pretty isn't it? The juice has a lemon-lime acidity but the fragrance has orange-y notes to it as well.


Blend them all together with some olive oil, till it emulsifies and combines into a base flavour mix.


I started with dried chickpeas - soak them in water overnight, pressure cook for about 15 minutes, drain and rinse. For the creamiest hummus, its best to remove the skins off the chickpeas, but I can't be bothered. I'm not too fussy when I'm feeding myself. :P


Toss the chickpeas into the mixer, along with some more olive oil, and a generous amount of yogurt. This is healthy hummus - minimum oil. Blend blend blend away. Add more yogurt, and a little bit of water, as necessary. Don't forget to add salt!


Scoop out the creamy deliciousness into a bowl, swirl the top with some olive oil and red chilli powder for taste.


Yum! More variations coming soon. :)




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