Hummus with Crisp Pita Triangles

Hummus is an Arabic word meaning ‘chickpeas.’ This is a creamy chickpea, garlic, tahini & lemon dip garnished with ingredients easily available in your very own kitchen like paprika, cumin, chopped parsley & drizzled with olive oil. This dip is super quick & extremely easy to prepare. Hummus is delicious served with crisp pita bread, crudités, corn chips or as a spread on wraps, in shawarmas or sandwiches.

This popular Middle Eastern & Mediterranean speciality, is usually served as a part of the mezze platter with accompaniments like falafel, grilled chicken, fish, kibbe, tabouleh or eggplant (brinjal). Garnishes include tomato, cucumber, coriander, parsley, caramelized onions, sautéed mushrooms, whole chickpeas, olive oil, hard boiled eggs, paprika, sumac, ful, olives, pickles, mint leaves & pine nuts. Outside the Middle East, it is sometimes served with tortilla chips or crackers. Various regions of the Middle East have variations. Hummus ful is topped with a paste made from fava beans boiled until soft & then crushed.

Hummus is a staple food of Palestine & a common part of everyday meals in Israel. It is sold in super markets & speciality shops & also served in restaurants. To make your own hummus, you may use canned chickpeas or make fresh chickpeas by simply pressure cooking soaked dry chickpeas. You may use bottled tahini or make your own in advance & use it. It is a healthy dip full of proteins iron, vitamin C & dietary fibre.

Try out this recipe & enjoy as an any time snack… J

Ingredients :

2 cups boiled soft Chickpeas or a can of drained chickpeas (Kabuli Chana)

1 clove fresh Garlic (peeled )

2 tbsps. fresh Lemon Juice

2 tbsps. Tahini

2 tbsps. Olive Oil

2 ½ tbsps. Chickpea water or Water

Salt to taste

Garnishing :

 A sprinkling of Paprika, Cumin pwd., Parsley (optional) & Olive Oil

Few chickpeas & Olives (optional)

Procedure :

Place all the above mentioned ingredients in a food processor/blender/grinder & process/blend on high speed until well combined.

Turn the machine off & scrape down the mixture from the sides & base of the jar.

Process again until the dip is smooth.

Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

To serve, pour out the hummus in a serving bowl & garnish with a sprinkling of paprika, cumin pwd.,& chopped parsley.

Drizzle olive oil generously & decorate with some boiled chickpeas & olives.

Serve with crisp pita triangles or with your favorite chips or crudités.

Crisp Pita Triangles :

Pre-heat the oven to 200C.

Using a pair of kitchen scissors or a knife, cut pita bread or any flat bread into bite sized triangles.

Place the bread triangles on a baking tray & bake until crisp.

Serve with Hummus or  allow to cool, then store in an airtight container until required.