By: Amna Hasan
Chickpeas are underrated but we forget how they can be served as snacks and meals and are super versatile! I picked the two iconic dishes made from chickpeas however you can make so many more dishes, the sky’s the limit!
Hummus
The ingredients you’ll need are:
Chickpeas – 425 grams of rinsed and drained canned chickpeas or 1 ½ cups cooked chickpeas.
Baking soda - ½ teaspoon (if you’re using canned chickpeas)
Lemon juice - ¼ cup ( You can add more for taste)
Garlic - 1 medium-to-large clove, roughly chopped
Fine sea salt - ½ teaspoon (to taste)
tahini - ½ cup
Ice water - 2 to 4 tablespoons
ground cumin - ½ teaspoon
olive oil - 1 tablespoon
Put the chickpeas in a saucepan and add the baking soda. Cover the chickpeas by several inches of water then bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Boil for around 20 minutes until they are really soft and have grown in size, reduce heat if necessary to prevent overflow. Once cooked well, strain the chickpeas and wash them with cool water for around 30 minutes then set it aside.
Meanwhile, in a food processor or high-powered blender, combine the lemon juice, garlic, and salt. Blend until the garlic is very finely chopped, then let the mixture rest so the garlic flavor can mellow (10 minutes minimum).
Add the tahini to the mixture in the blender and blend until the mixture is thick and creamy. Stop to scrape down any tahini stuck to the sides and bottom of the processor as it can get stuck.
While blending, drizzle in 2 tablespoons ice water. Scrape down and blend until the mixture is very smooth, pale, and creamy. (If your tahini was extra-thick to begin with, you might need to add 1 to 2 tablespoons more ice water.)
Then add the cumin and the chickpeas to the food processor. While blending, drizzle in the olive oil. Blend until the mixture is super smooth for about 2 minutes. Add more ice water by the tablespoon if necessary to achieve a super creamy texture. Taste, and adjust if necessary.
Scrape the hummus into a serving bowl or plate. You can garnish with olive oil and paprika and serve. Leftover hummus kept well in the refrigerator, covered can last for up to 1 week.
2. Chana pulao
Ingredients:
Nutmeg – 2 small pieces
Black peppercorns – ½ teaspoon + 12/14 pieces (for separate use)
Black cardamom – 1 piece
Ginger – 1 inch piece
Garlic – 6/7 cloves
Onion – 1 medium size (sliced)
Green chilies – 12 /13 chilies
Water – 2 tbs + 2-3 cups (separate use)
Cooking oil – ½ cup
Cumin seeds - 1 teaspoon
Cinnamon sticks - 2/3 sticks
Cloves – 4/5
Green cardamom – 3/4
Salt - 1 ½ teaspoon
Red chili powder – 1 teaspoon
Yogurt – ½ cup
Mint leaves – ½ cup
Chicken stock cube – 1 cube (optional)
Boiled Chickpeas -250 grams
Rice – ½ kg (soaked)
To start off, Add nutmeg, black peppercorns, black cardamom in a spice blender and grind well. Then add ginger, garlic and green chilies in the blender and blend till it turns into a paste then set it aside.
In a pot, add oil and onions in and fry till golden. Then proceed to add and mix cumin seeds, cinnamon sticks, black peppercorn, cloves and green cardamom. Now while mixing, add the grinded paste, salt, red chili powder, yogurt, chicken stock and mint leaves and mix for 2 minutes. Lastly, add water, mix and wait till it boils. Once it starts boiling, add chickpeas and rice and mix it well. Cook on medium high flame until water is reduced (usually takes 8-12 minutes). Cover the pot and cook on low flame to let the pulao ‘steam cook’ for around 7-10 minutes and then serve!
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