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A large shallow blue bowl of creamy yellow hummus with olive oil and chickpeas for garnish, with a plate of pita bread, a jar of roasted red peppers, bowl of goats cheese and jar of olives surrounding
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No Fuss Hummus From Scratch - Hummus Bi Tahina

No Fuss Hummus From Scratch. Delicious Levantine Dip of chickpea blended with tahini and lemon. Detailed notes to guide you through every step of the process for a simple, classic Hummus.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time1 hour 25 minutes
Total Time11 hours 35 minutes
Course: Dips
Cuisine: levantine, Mediterranean
Servings: 3 cups
Author: Sujata Shukla

Ingredients

To Soak the Chickpeas

  • 1 ¼ cups dried chickpeas 200 gms
  • 4 cups water to soak the chickpeas Should cover at least 2" above the surface of the chickpeas
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda

To Cook the Chickpeas

  • 3 ⅔ cups soaked drained chickpeas Approx vol of 1 ¼ cups of dry chickpeas, after soaking with soda and water overnight, is 3 ⅔ cups
  • 6 ½ cups water for boiling the chickpeas About double the volume of the drained chickpeas

To make Hummus

  • 5 tablespoons Tahini paste about 75 gms (or to taste), a little more than ¼ cup
  • 2 -3 cloves garlic
  • 2 - 3 tablespoons lemon juice about 25 - 50 gms (or to taste)
  • ½ cup ice cold water or water from the chickpeas after cooking about 115 ml
  • 1 ¼ teaspoons salt or to taste

Garnish before serving

  • 2 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon za'atar
  • 1 - 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil for drizzling on the hummus

Instructions

How to soak dried Chickpeas Before Boiling them

  • Soak the chickpeas overnight ( or at least 10 hours) in cold water after adding the baking soda. The water should be at least double the volume of chickpeas, and should be about 2" above the surface of the chickpeas. After the required soaking time, drain and thoroughly rinse the chickpeas, discarding the water in which they were soaked.

How to Make Hummus from Chickpeas and Tahini

  • Add the drained soaked rinsed chickpeas to a medium sized pan, sufficient to hold the chickpeas. Add double the volume of water than the chickpeas. During the boiling and cooking process, make sure there is adequate water to cover the surface of the peas. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to allow the chickpeas to simmer.
  • Cook until done, ie till the chickpeas are well cooked and begin to fall apart, breaking when you press one between your fingers, but not getting mushy. Mine generally take about 90 minutes, as it depends on the chickpeas as well as the heat from the stove. Pressure cooking is of course much faster, and I cook it for 2 whistles and allow the steam to dissipate on its own before opening the cooker. You need to use less water though, while pressure cooking and I don't often use this process as the chickpeas may get overcooked and mushy.
  • Allow the chickpeas to cool in the cooking water (after you have removed them from the heat) If you wish, you may stir the pot and remove the chickpea skin you see floating around after a good stir. I don't bother, but removing the skin is said to give a silkier hummus with better colour and flavour. Once cooled, drain the chickpeas but reserve the water in which they were cooked. (Refer post above to read more about aquafaba or water in which chickpeas are cooked). Also reserve about 2 tablespoons of chickpeas for garnish.
  • While the chickpeas are boiling, as above, assemble all the ingredients. Crush the garlic and squeeze the lemon for lemon juice. All of them including the chickpeas, should best be at room temperature before you start making the hummus. If you are using water instead of aquafaba for processing the hummus, keep ice cold water handy for the next step.
  • In a small bowl, add the tahini and about half of the lemon juice. Add the crushed garlic and stir it all in well. As the mixture tightens, add a little of the cooled liquid from boiling the chickpeas, and stir till you get a fluid paste.
  • Add the drained boiled chickpeas to the food processor. Add the tahini garlic paste. Blend till chickpeas are well processed into a puree. Add a little salt (about ½ teaspoon). Add the liquid from the chickpeas (or ice cold water, if using) little by little, running the processor as you go, till you get the right consistency - not yet runny, not stiff either, just a soft paste which can 'hold its shape' as Yotam Ottolenghi's recipe in the Guardian says. Taste the hummus, adding more salt (go slow though, and don't over salt it!), garlic or lemon juice.
  • Transfer to a serving bowl and cover with cling wrap so that the wrap touches the surface of the hummus throughout, leaving no space for air to enter. Place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, for it to set. Serve at room temperature. Alternatively, serve the hummus warm, with a spread of olive oil on top.
  • If serving at room temperature: Garnish with the reserved chickpeas, cracked black pepper and za'atar and a drizzle of olive oil. Serve with Pita Bread and olives. Hummus may be served with various toppings such as ful (dried fava bean paste), fried chopped lamb (kawarma) etc.