Hummus is a popular Lebanese dip or spread made with cooked chickpeas, lemon juice, garlic & olive oil etc. This creamy dip is part of staple diet in most middle eastern home & is served with pita bread, kebabs, falafel, shawarma or even salads (Tabbouleh).
In this post we will be making :
- Hummus
- Roasted Beetroot Hummus
To be honest, my first experience with hummus was not so good. I tasted it at a restaurant in Delhi & it was too dry & almost chalky in smell/taste . Since then I had made the opinion that hummus is a dry dip & whenever everyone said that they loved hummus I thought maybe it’s my own taste preference that I am not liking its taste & texture.
Recently on our trip to Istanbul✈, we ordered few snacks & as expected they brought hummus with it too. With due resistance, I dunked corner of my pita chip in it & tasted once again but this time I was taken aback as the hummus tasted so creamy & soft, almost melt in the mouth. After this on our entire trip, I had hummus repeatedly & liked it every time !!
Travel not only unwinds & relaxes your soul but also inspires you in so many ways. Most of my food inspirations come from the dishes which I eat during travelling. I find immense joy in trying to replicate those recipes as I not only learn something new but kind of re-live a part of time I enjoyed the most. After coming back home, I read about how authentic hummus is made & kept trying the recipe till I got the taste that I got from hummus tasting in Istanbul😍.
In my opinion, Classic chickpeas hummus is one of the easiest & healthiest spreads to make. It turns out so lite & creamy that you even won’t mind having it over toasts or as a dip for snacks. It is a perfect combination of proteins from chickpeas & healthy fats from extra virgin olive oil. I have made this classic hummus recipe from scratch that includes Tahini too.
Both the hummus recipes are :
- Vegan
- Gluten Free
- Easy to make
- Taste absolutely delicious
All the steps with images has been shown in detail but still if you have any doubts feel free to drop in comments.
Tips to make perfect hummus :
1. Let the chickpeas cool down completely before you start making hummus out of it. It would be better if you could keep it in fridge for 1-2 hours. You can even used canned chickpeas instead.
2. For silkier texture, peel the boiled chickpeas before blending it to make hummus. Yes the step sounds painstaking but it has a noticeable effect on texture. However its an optional step.
3. Don’t add too much garlic as we don’t want its flavour to be overpowering the senses. Also, as we are using fresh garlic cloves, it reduces the shelf life of hummus.
4. Excess of anything is bad. Same applies while using the ingredients in hummus. Too much of Tahini or cumin powder can make hummus bitter. So keep the quantities in check.
5. Don’t add too much of salt & lemon in one go. Add some of it while blending, taste the final result & then adjust it according to your taste.
6. One of the important trick is to use the water in which chickpeas where boiled. Chill that water & then use it while making hummus. For many of you who are unaware, this water is basically “Aquafaba” & is used to bring light fluffy texture in baked goods.
7. For making beetroot hummus, you can used boiled, steamed or roasted beetroots. I have used roasted beetroot & have explained the process of roasting in detail. Use it for hummus once it has cooled down completely.
8. Use Extra Virgin Olive oil for best taste.
You can use storebought or homemade tahini for making hummus. Incase you don’t have it, you can skip it also but you will miss the nutty aroma & taste in hummus.
Hope you would like both these Classic Hummus & Beetroot Hummus recipes. More dips recipes you might like to try:
Ingredients:
- For Classic Hummus-
- Boiled Chickpeas – 1 cup
- Garlic cloves- 2
- Tahini Paste-2 to 3 tbsp
- Lemon Juice- 2 tbsp
- Olive Oil-1 tbsp
- Salt-1/2 tsp ( or to taste)
- Cumin Powder-1/4 tsp
- Water (in which chickpeas where boiled)- 4 tbsp
- For garnishing-
- Paprika Powder (Red Chilli)-1/4 tsp
- Olive oil- for drizzling on top
- Few boiled chickpeas
- For Beetroot Hummus-
- Medium Beetroot-1 (roughly 50-60 grams)
- Boiled Chickpeas – 1 cup
- Garlic cloves- 1
- Tahini Paste-2 tbsp
- Lemon Juice- 2 tbsp
- Olive Oil-1 tbsp
- Salt-1/2 tsp ( or to taste)
- Cumin Powder-1/4 tsp
- Water (in which chickpeas where boiled)-3 tbsp
- For garnishing-
- Sesame seeds-1/4 tsp
- Few Boiled chickpeas
- Olive Oil- For drizzling
Directions (to make plain hummus):
Step 1:
(If you are using canned chickpeas then skip this step) Soak the chickpeas overnight or for at least 5 to 6 hours. Discard the water in which they were soaked. Transfer these soaked chickpeas in pressure cooker & add fresh water to it such that its level is little above the chickpeas.
Pressure cook them for 2 to 3 whistles and them keep them on low flame for 20-30 minutes in order to boil them. Let the chickpeas (& the water in which they were boiled) cool down completely & preferably keep them in fridge for 1-2 hours.
Step 2:
In a blending jar, add tahini paste, lemon juice & garlic cloves. Blend them well. We are not adding chickpeas in this step as we want the garlic & tahini to combine evenly.
Step 3:
In the same jar, add cooked chickpeas, olive oil, salt & cumin powder too. We will gradually add the water in which chickpeas were boiled while blending. (Aquafaba (chickpea water) has the tendency to become light & fluffy when whipped. This will help in making the hummus smooth).
Step 4:
In between blending do scrape off the chickpeas from the sides of the jar.
Repeat this 2-3 times & keep blending till you get perfectly smooth hummus.
Step 5:
Transfer this hummus on a plate or bowl. Garnish with some more boiled chickpeas, a drizzle of olive oil, roasted cumin powder or paprika powder. Delicious creamy hummus is ready to be served.
Roasted Beetroot Hummus
Beet Hummus is a variation of hummus where we combine beetroot with classic hummus flavours. It further enhances the nutritional value of hummus and tastes so good with sweet earthy flavours from roasted beetroot.
You can use boiled, steamed or roasted beetroot in this recipe. I am sharing the method for roasting the beetroot. Roasting brings out the sugar in beetroot thus adding more flavour to the hummus.
Directions (to make beet hummus):
Step 1:
Soak the chickpeas overnight or for 5 to 6 hours. Discard the water in which they were soaked and cook them as explained above (step 1 in hummus section).
Step 2:
Wash the beetroot well while scrubbing off all the dirt on it. Chop off the top & the bottom part of beetroot as shown in image. Place it in a foil paper, drizzle some olive oil & salt over them. Don’t worry about peeling them as it will be easily done once they are roasted.
Wrap them in remaining foil paper completely & transfer this in a preheated oven. Bake them at 200°C (400°F) for 30-40 minutes.
The time varies slightly depending on the size of beetroot (mine got cooked in 40 minutes). To identify whether beetroots are ready or not, check with a knife. It should smoothly pierce into & out of it. You can easily peel off the outer layer now. Let these beetroots cool down completely.
Step 3:
In a blending jar, add this chopped roasted beetroot, tahini paste, lemon juice & garlic clove. Blend them well. (Here I have used 1 beetroot only)
Step 4:
In the same jar, add boiled chickpeas, olive oil, salt & cumin powder too. We will gradually add ‘aquafaba’ (the water in which chickpeas were boiled) while blending the chickpeas. This helps in making the hummus light & fluffy.
Step 5:
In between blending, do scrape off the chickpeas from the sides & bottom of blender. Repeat this 2 or 3 times till you get smooth creamy consistency.
Step 6:
Transfer this roasted beetroot hummus in a serving bowl & garnish with some boiled chickpea, toasted sesame seeds or finely chopped herbs of your choice.
Enjoy these delicious flavourful hummus recipes with pita chips, pita bread falafel or these whole wheat lavash crackers.
More recipes with beetroots:
If you try this hummus recipe & share pics on social media, then don’t forget to tag us on Facebook or Instagram or use the hashtag #kuchpakrahahai.
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(3 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
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The recipe is explained quite well. The pictures are also helpful. Thank You
Thank you for your feedback 🙂