Hummus

Hummus is a Middle Eastern food dip made from cooked garbanzo beans blended with tahini , olive oil, lemon juice, salt and  garlic.  I used to buy it once in a while in a grocery store until I figured out how simple and easy it is to make it at home.

Yields: 6 to 8 servings

Ingredients:

Garbanzo Beans: 1 Cup (soaked dry beans overnight)

Sesame Seeds: ¼ cup (roasted)

Garlic Clove: ½ large clove minced (optional)

Cumin powder: 1/8 table spoon (pinch of it)

Olive Oil: 3 table spoons

Lemon Juice: (1 medium lemon)

Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

Boil the soaked garbanzos beans until they are soft and tender. Allow it to cool, rinse it and keep it aside.

In a blender, blend the roasted sesame seeds to powder .You have to make it to a powder first. If you mix the seeds with lemon juice and oil and try to blend it, it won’t be a puree. Add lemon juice, salt, cumin, garlic, pepper and a spoon of oil to the powder and blend it to make a puree ( Tahini).Keep it aside.

In a food processor/blender, combine the puree ( Tahini), add half of the beans then process for a minute.  Add 2 table spoons of oil, remaining beans and process until it becomes thick and smooth. If the mixture is not smooth, slowly add 2 to 3 tablespoons of water until the desired consistency is acquired. 

 Scrape the hummus in to a container then drizzle some olive oil over the top.

 Enjoy the hummus with Pita Bread or any type of  vegetable chips or bread of your choice.