Hummus (without tahini)

The first Mediterannean food I ever tasted was hummus and pita bread. Maybe I hadn't acquired the taste then and I found the hummus too pasty and strange. Pita bread felt more like a naan / kulcha, and I wondered what all the fuss was about.
A few years later when I tasted it again, the texture of hummus felt surprisingly nice and the warm pita went so well with it. Not sure the cook did a great job or I just developed better taste buds !

I started making it at home much later and my eight year old seems to really enjoy this now. I have made hummus only with chickpeas, though I have heard of sweet potato hummus and basil hummus, which I will get around to making soon enough



I am usually tempted to buy all these exotic ingredients when I see them, but now I stop myself. There are enough number of spices that I have picked up and trashed after a couple of years because of the expiry date and I would have used it just a couple of times, or perhaps just once when I felt inspired enough. I was very keen on picking up tahini, but thankfully better sense prevailed and I used my own substitution which turned out pretty good. I did however pick up bottle of za'atar spice, a mix of sumac, sesame seeds and some dried herbs.

Warm pita and hummus drizzled with olive oil can make for a really nice starter. Here's the recipe for the hummus I made.

Hummus

What you need -

1 cup dried chickpeas (soaked in water for 6-8 hours)
2-3 cloves garlic
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp sesame oil
1/2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp roasted cumin seeds
a pinch of za'atar spice (optional)
juice of a medium sized lemon
salt to taste


What you do with it -

Drain the soaked chickpeas, add 2.5 cups water and cook till its soft but not mushy
Allow it to cool
In a small grinder, powder the cumin seeds and sesame seeds
Blend the chickpeas, garlic, sesame seed powder, cumin seed powder, olive oil and 1/2 the lemon juice
Add the sesame oil and salt and blend till its smooth
Sprinkle some red chilli powder, za'atar spice powder, lemon juice and olive oil and serve with warm pitas

Pita bread

Bread baking was something I never imagined myself doing. It seemed like such a big task, with the proofing, kneading, rising, baking, browning...But after I baked my first ever bread, a pretty fail-proof focaccia, I was hooked to it. The most satisfying part is that the wonderful aroma of fresh bread that spreads all over the house. I've heard that kneading the dough can be therapeutic, but with the daily roti-dough kneading which is more a chore that I'd happily have someone else to do for me, this bit did seem a bit over-rated !



I've always wanted to bake my own pita bread and it seemed like the simplest of things to bake, considering it was very much like an Indian flat bread / roti that I am used to making on a daily basis. The first time I made it, it didn't fluff up at all and it was really disappointing. I guess I had missed out on the temperature settings, which are really crucial here since the bake time is not more than 5 minutes. So I gave this a try this time around, baking it for Aparna's We Knead to Bake #14, where we could choose to bake anything we liked.



My son is over eager when the camera is out and insists on clicking pictures himself or arranging the setting. He was rushing around acting really busy with the camera dangling on his neck and looking for 'props'. I didn't want to spoil the fun for him, but I really had my heart in mouth, wondering just when that camera would crash into something. the only way I could get the camera back was by telling him that I needed to take a picture of him with the pita bread. Phew ! So here's a pic with him (and his big hands) holding the pita pockets



Serve the warm pitas with hummus or fill the pita pockets with falafels and some salad. Recipe for hummus coming up next

This is being YeastSpotted

Pita Bread
Recipe Source - The Kitchn

Makes 6-8 small pitas

What You Need

1/2 cup warm water (not too hot to the touch)
1 tsp instant yeast
1/2 tsp sugar
1.5 cups maida / APF
1/2 tsp salt
1-2 teaspoons olive oil

What you do with it-

In a bowl, add the flour, sugar and yeast. Slowly pour in the warm water into this and stir
Add the salt and oil and start kneading it. I prefer working with the dough on a clean counter-top
Add a little flour if it gets too sticky and knead till it forms a smooth dough
Place this in a well-oiled large bowl and allow it to rise for an hour or so, till it doubles in size
Once its rise, punch it down and then divide into 8 small balls
(At this point, the dough can be refrigerated in a cling wrap if its not going to be used rightaway)
Using a rolling pin and a little flour, flatten the ball to form a small round (about 3" dia and 1/2" thick)
Pre heat the oven along with the baking tray to 220 C or 450 F
Place the rolled-out pitas directly on the baking tray / baking sheet and bake for about 3 minutes
The pita will start to puff up after a minute or two
You can also bake them on the stove top using a skillet. You will need to flip over the pita and cook on both sides if using the stove-top method
Keep the baked pita covered in a clean cloth
Serve immediately to really enjoy the fresh and fluffy pita
Serve with some hummus or use the pita pockets and stuff with falafels and some salad

Moroccan chickpea soup with harissa

Winter has finally set in, in my part of the world !
It was really sunny and hot till the weekend, but on Sunday the temperatures really dropped...My little one heads off to school really early in the morning and we now have to bundle him up in his woollens...The days are pretty warm, but the evenings get really chill



Made Moroccan chickpea soup with harissa and some thyme roasted potatoes to go with it, for dinner last night
There's this lovely restaurant for Mediterranean food here in Ahmedabad called Souq, which we have been frequenting regularly since they opened. Had this chickpea soup here for the first time and loved it - everything on their menu is really really good !

Last month I was in Bombay for a few days and on one of our shopping sprees, my cousins and I landed up in Moshe's thrice in one day ! Its a lovely cafe, that serves Mediterranean and some super awesome desserts !! We first went to the one that's in the Fab India store at Kalaghoda. While one cousin was helping an uncle with his shopping, the other one and I chatted endlessly about food ! We then ran up to the Moshe's there and picked up some kiwi and green apple jam and a bottle of harissa...
We went to another Moshe's for lunch and the third for dessert after our shopping had drained us out and we needed the sugar rush to keep us going !

Harissa is a hot chilli paste, popular in North African cooking. Add it to pasta, soup, couscous to make a spicy tasty difference. This can be made at home
With this store bought harissa on hand, I decided on the chickpea soup with harissa. Got the recipe from OneTribeGourmet, a blog that's a visual treat !

Moroccan Chickpea soup with harissa

Recipe Source - One Tribe Gourmet

What you need -

1 cup cooked chickpeas / kabuli chana / garbanzo beans
3 cups of stock (I used the liquid from cooking the chickpeas)
1 small onion
5-6 cloves garlic
2 tomatoes / 6-8 ripe cherry tomatoes
1/2 tsp saffron threads
1/2 tsp roasted and powdered cumin seeds
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/4 tsp black pepper powder
1/2 tsp salt
4 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp harissa sauce
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup chopped cilantro / coriander leaves

What you do with it -

Soak the chickpeas overnight in a pot of water and then cook in pressure cooker / stove top
Drain and reserve the water
Chop the onion, garlic and tomatoes
Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a deep pan
Add the garlic and onion and saute until translucent
Add the cumin powder, saffron threads, salt, pepper and chili powder
Saute for 2 mins and then add the tomatoes
Add the cooked chickpeas along with the stock or the water the chickpeas were cooked in
Mix well and cover and allow to simmer for about half an hour
Add chopped coriander lemon juice and let it simmer for 10 more minutes
Use a hand held blender to pulverize the chickpeas but don't mash it up completely
Spoon into the soup bowls and garnish with coriander leaves, lemon wedges, a spoon on olive oil and a tsp of harissa sauce
Serve hot !