Kitchen Diaries: Homemade Hummus

Sorry for being AWOL, I've been lazy (what's new?). But, here I am again, back with a food post! This one does not require any cooking at all, so it should be pretty easy. =)

I've wanted to make hummus for a while now but couldn't because when I searched for recipes online they required an ingredient called tahini. After some more Google-ing I found that tahini is a paste made from sesame seeds. Hmm, okay, so where do I buy that? I thought I might be able to find it in the international aisles in the supermarkets we usually go to, but I didn't. So, my dream of making my own hummus was set aside.

One day, my sister and I went to the Fort for an appointment and some random shopping. I'm not sure what we were originally going there for, but we went into the supermarket in Market Market. I love the wide selection of stuff in their supermarket's international aisles, where my sister and I found a bottle of sesame paste. My sister got excited and told me I could finally make hummus, hooray!

Asian sesame paste. It looks kind like peanut butter, actually.

Fast forward to the first time I tried making hummus - it didn't turn out the way I expected. Don't get me wrong, it was still pretty good, but it didn't taste like the hummus I usually had in restaurants. It tasted too...nutty. I figured it must be the brand of sesame paste I used, it didn't look like the tahini that people used in their recipes online. I researched a bit and found that there's tahini and then there's Asian sesame paste, which are actually slightly different things. Damn. Tahini is made from hulled sesame seeds (kernels only, no husks) while Asian sesame paste, which is what I was able to find, is made from whole sesame seeds.

So...the husks makes a big difference? They say you get more nutrition with the husks on, so that's one thing. I'm guessing the other difference is that the sesame paste I was able to buy used dark roasted sesame seeds since the paste itself is darker in color than the tahini photos I've seen online. Maybe it's also the reason for its stronger taste? *shrugs*

Washified notebook!

Commercial break! I just wanted to show-off my washified notebook, haha! I had this notebook lying around in my shelves and I decided to washify it and use it as my recipe notebook.

Front and back covers

The notebook was a gift from a close friend, which I got a few years ago. So far I've filled up a quarter of its pages with recipes that I like and want to keep for future reference. Every time I carry this notebook downstairs my sister asks me "fooood?!" in the hopes that I'll be making or cooking something, haha. Okay, commercial break over!

What do we need for hummus?

The ingredients needed for making your own hummus at home is really short and can easily be found in most supermarkets (aside from the tahini).

I start out by draining the garbanzos/chickpeas and rinsing them. Then I place them in a bowl of water and remove the skins of each chickpea. It seems tedious but it's actually kind of fun. The water helps loosen up the skins and with a gentle pinch of the peas the skins come right off. This step is totally optional since a lot of recipes online simply use chickpeas with the skins on, but I've also read that removing the skins will result in smoother hummus.

Skins on

Skins off

I try to remove as many of the skins as I can,
but it's not a strict step so a few chickpea skins here and there is okay.

So, since I still only have Asian sesame paste and not tahini I figured I could just lessen the amount of paste to use for the hummus. It worked and the nutty taste isn't overpowering anymore.

Scraping the sides of the processor with a rubber spatula

Almost there

There we go

Hummus

Adapted from Inspired Taste's Simple Hummus Recipe

Chickpeas / garbanzos	1 can (15 oz /425 grams)
Lemon juice	1/4 cup or 1 large lemon
Asian sesame paste	1/8 cup
Garlic, minced or crushed	4-5 cloves (I like it garlicky)
Olive oil	2 tablespoons
Salt	1/2 teaspoon
Ground cumin	1 teaspoon
Water	2-3 tablespoons
For serving:
Paprika
Olive oil

* Note: Make hummus in advanced and keep in the fridge for an hour or so before serving. This lets the flavors develop and makes it yummier!

1. Drain chickpeas and rinse. Remove skins, if you want (see narrative about peeling above). Set aside.
2. Add sesame paste, garlic, olive oil, salt, cumin, and half of the chickpeas to the food processor.
3. Process for 1 minute. Scrape sides and bottom of container and process for 30 seconds more.
4. Add the remaining chickpeas and process again for 1 minute. Scrape sides and bottom of container and process again for 1-2 minutes until smooth.
5. If too thick add water 1 tablespoon at a time to the mixture while the processor is running.
6. Transfer to airtight container and keep in the fridge for a few hours before serving.
7. Heat portion of hummus to be served in the microwave for 20-30 seconds. Top with a tablespoon or so of olive oil and a dash of paprika.

Dip for toasted tortillas or roti

We had leftover tortillas and roti (both bought frozen from the supermarket) and I toasted them up in a pan and served as dippers for the hummus. Nom!

I'm thinking of making my own tahini for the next batch of hummus I make. That should take care of the tahini / sesame paste problem...I hope.