Hummus – A Simple Recipe With A Twist

Posted on May 15, 2012 by Easy Writer

Let’s just start by saying “Hummus is really really good.”

Okay, now that we have that out of the way, let’s talk about hummus.  This is a very versatile snack.  You can have it on chips, you can have it on carrots, you can put it on your sandwhich.  You can get a spoon and eat it.  It’s yummy.  Maybe you disagree, but then, why are you still here?  That’s right, you love it, and you know it.

So, what exactly IS hummus?  I mean, it has chick peas, right?  What else does it have? 

Here’s the thing; there are so many different hummus recipes out there, you just have to find one, tweak it to your liking, and then hold on to it.  Sure, you can buy your hummus at the store, but what’s in it….really, what’s in it?  That’s right, you can put all the trust you want in to food labels, or just MAKE it yourself.  It’s really not that difficult.  Let’s start with the ingredient list, shall we?

Hummus

  • 1 Cup Uncooked Chickpeas
  • 1 Lemon (freshly juiced)
  • 1/2 Cup Tahini (don’t forget to stir it, first)
  • 3-4 Garlic Cloves – Diced or Minced
  • 2 Tbsp Olive Oil (the more virginy the better, so I go extra)
  • 1/2 to 1 Tbsp Sea Salt
  • 1/2 to 1 tsp Cayenne
  • 1 tsp Cumin Powder

So, here we go with disclaimers. 

  1. Firstly, the cayenne is totally optional.  I like a little bit of a zingy taste to my hummus, so I throw in the cayenne.
  2. The sea salt is more of a ‘to taste’, which is why I have it setup for 1/2 to 1 Tbsp.  Just don’t overdo it!

The dried chick peas take some prep work.  This is what I do, you’re welcome to do it your own way.  If you REALLY REALLY want to, you can just get 2 cans of chick peas, and skip right to the next steps.  I don’t use the canned chick peas, so I can’t speak for them.  I’m sure I’ll use them some day, but for now, go with the dried ones.  (Here’s a hint; a bag of dried chick peas can cost about as much as a can, but you can easily get 4-5 cans worth of beans out of a bag of dried chick peas.  You do the math.)

Rinse your chick peas in the sink, thoroughly.  You want to make sure you pick out any funky ones that don’t look at all like the others.  Soak them, overnight, for at least 8 hours.  If you forget, and let them soak for 2 days, you haven’t hurt anything (yet).  I actually start the soak period in the evening, and then put them in the crock pot the next day, and let that go on low for another night.  It sounds like a lot of work, but this all goes on while I’m sleeping!!  You basically want the chick peas to be soft enough to break down when you put them in the food processor.

I also think that letting the chick peas cool makes a difference, and keeps them from getting so dry.  Maybe that’s crazy talk, but you play with it and see what you like.  I typically slow cook them overnight, turn the crock pot off in the morning, and let it sit while I’m at work (the office, the yard…the couch; wherever).  Once they have time to cool off, you just need to rinse them, again, and then set them aside and get ready to make your hummus!

You want to juice your lemon.  Again, you can opt to buy lemon juice and keep that handy, but isn’t it more fun to juice a lemon yourself?  Besides, then you can throw the lemon peel into your compost pile, or feed it to your chickens!!  We picked up somewhat of an old fashioned juicer, and it works awesome.  It catches the seeds, and most of the pulp.  I don’t mind the pulp, but it’s just one of those things worth mentioning.

 

In your food processor, put in about 3 cups of the chick peas.  That ‘should’ be about all of them, so if you’re over/under, no big deal.  Don’t waste them!!

Add the lemon juice, the olive oil, garlic and the salt/cayenne/cumin spices.  You can also go ahead and add the tahini in at this point, or depending on how much space you have, fire up the processor and let it mix things up a bit so you have more room for the tahini.  My food processor is a bit small, so I have to do this with the size batch this recipe makes!!

Tahini is an interesting thing.  It looks like runny peanut butter, and even has a slight resemblance to the taste of peanut butter.  That is, if you’re used to eating peanut butter that has a bitter after taste.  What IS tahini?!?!  Well, good question.  It’s basically sesame seed.  That’s right, ground sesame seed.  Who knew you could get this out of those little seeds?

I’m not brand loyal, but this is what I happen to have and use.  My mom had the same when she was making hummus, and of the two choices I had, this one appealed to me more just enough to walk out of the store with this one.  I have no major complaints about it, but by all means, use whatever you want to, so long as it’s tahini.

Okay, back on track, sorry.  Mix the components together in your food processor.  Add a little bit of water to keep things moving.  Add your tahini.  Add some more water to keep things moving.  Add a little bit more water if things aren’t quite moving.

That’s right, you’re catching on.  Water is important, here.  Without it, we’ll all die, but more importantly, your hummus will be thick, and lumpy!!  There is no measurement for the water.  You’ve added all your other ingredients, so with this, you just add water ‘to texture’.  What I mean is, add water until it reaches a nice texture….one that you can appreciate.

How do you know when it’s ready?  That’s the easy, and BEST part!  You have to keep tasting it.  I use carrots, or whatever is handy.  Sometimes, I just have to use a finger, it’s whatever you have.  And don’t be afraid to add things to it.  A little more salt?  A little more water?  A little more cayenne?  Mmmm…..this could be my new favorite snack while I’m sitting in my chair at work watching paint dry.

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Curried Chana Dal

Posted on May 8, 2012 by Easy Writer

Several weeks ago (maybe longer than I want to admit) I picked up some Chana Dal at the grocery store with every intention of using it.  I just didn’t know what I was going to make with it, but I knew I wanted something with ‘dal’ in the name of it!  So, after too many weeks of procrastination (maybe I learned this from my siblings?) I finally decided that I needed to make something new; something I had never made before.

Enter: GOOGLE!!

So, to be fair, I didn’t learn ALL of my procrastination skills from my brothers, some of it was born into me.  With that comes a certain level of lazy.  Combine the two of them, and when you start filtering through all the many thousands of potential candidates for a suitable recipe, you lunge for something simple.  That’s what I went with.  A fairly simple list of ingredients, a fairly simple list of directions, and a complex array of tastes that the palate could enjoy (and maybe even be tricked into thinking the dish itself was much more complicated than it really was!).

Let’s not forget the most important part: It had to be something I could tweak to my own.  Afterall, what more would it be if I were to just copy/paste recipes from the internet here?  There’s a word for that….but let’s move on!

Curried Chana Dal

  • 1.5 cups chana dal (washed, drained and picked through)
  • 4.5 cups water (for boiling the chana dal)
  • 1 tsp Turmeric
  • 1.5 tsp ground Cumin
  • 1 tsp ground Coriander
  • 1.5 tsp Cayenne pepper
  • 2.5 Tbs butter (soy free, dairy free)
  • 1 tsp cumin seed
  • 1 Medium Onion (chopped/diced)
  • 3-4 cloves of Garlic (chopped/minced)
  • 1 tsp Sea Salt
  • 1 Tbs fresh Ginger (chopped/minced)
  • 1.5 tsp Garam Masala
  • Fresh Coriander Leaves (garnish/topper)

So, the ingredients have been grouped according to when you’re going to need them.  The first step is the longest step, but requires the least amount of work.  Soak the chana dal overnight like you would with a dried bean (meaning, put it in something and cover it with enough water that it won’t get soaked up while you’re sleeping).  It’s important to rinse through them before you leave them to soak, so you can pick out any of the ones that don’t look like they will make the cut.

Once your chana has been soaked, and you’re ready to begin, get your cook pot out.  I use a 4-5 quart pot, which left me with plenty of space.  Drain and rinse your chana, and put it in the pot, along with the 4.5 cups of water and the following spices:

  • Turmeric, Ground Cumin, Ground Coriander, Cayenne Pepper

Bring the water to a boil, and then turn it down to just above a simmer.  Let it cook the chana for about an hour.

While the chana is cooking, you can either take a break, or prepare everything else.  I like to prepare ahead, so when it’s time to focus, I have everything ready and at my disposal.

Get your onion, garlic and ginger all chopped up, and set aside.  You can keep these to the side, all together, since they will go in together (shortly).

Take that 2.5 Tbs of butter, and put it in another cook pot.  I used a 3 quart, and had plenty of space!!  Heat it up, get it melted, on about medium heat.  Once it’s melted, put the cumin seed in, and let it cook in for a minute or two.  Then add the onion/garlic/ginger and let those cook up in the butter for a few minutes.  Keep stirring it, and watch for the onions to start going transluscent (this is when you know they’re getting really good!).

Once the onion hits that point, start adding the cooked chana.  You can scoop it in directly from the pot you were boiling it in.  Keep the water, you’re going to ultimately add the entire contents of that pot to the new one.  Sorry if you like to reuse and minimize dishes!!  Get it all added in, stir it up to get everything mixed together, and then put the lid on and let it simmer for about 30 minutes.

Once it has had time to simmer, and you’re getting close to ‘eating time’, add the teaspoon of Garam Masala, mix it in, and let it sit for just a few more minutes.  This is a good time to chop up your fresh coriander leaves.

Now it’s ready (I know, FINALLY, right?) to dish out.  There are many ways to do this.  You could dish it over some brown rice, or you could just dish it into a bowl and eat it with a spoon.  Just DON’T forget to put the fresh coriander on top.

I’ve tried it both with and without rice, and to be honest, I don’t know which one I like more.  So, I’ll leave that to you to try.

I’m also thinking that this can go for either a main course, or make a good addition to another dish.  I’ll be combining this with another curry dish we made this week, and taking that for lunch once or twice with all the left overs!

Did I mention this could easily feed 4-5 people, if not more?  Add in another dish, and you’ve got a small feast for a party of 2!!

Oh, and, assuming you used the dairy free, soy free butter, then you have yourself a dish that is:

  • Diary Free
  • Soy Free
  • Gluten Free
  • Vegetarian
  • Vegan
  • Healthy

Through the course of my searching for a decent/easy recipe, I found a site that seems to be pro-chana dal.  I’ll share the link, and suggest you take a look at it to get an idea of how incredibly health the chana dal is:  Click Here

If you’re looking for something healthy to add to your array of “food pantry must-have items” then you should definitely check out the link above.  Apparently, this is an awesome food for diabetics as it is extremely low on the GI charts.  I’ll leave it at that, since that is nowhere near my realm of expertise (not that any of this really is, though).

Good luck, and happy/healthy eating!

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Lentil and Chick Pea Chili

Posted on April 21, 2012 by Easy Writer

This is a lentil and chick pea chili that includes kidney beans, as well.  As with many of my recipes, this one is open for interpretation, and you’re free to add/change/remove anything in it.  Ultimately, your own taste buds will drive the end product!

Lentil and Chick Pea Curry

  • 2 cups dried lentils
  • 1 cup dried chick peas (pre-soaked overnight)
  • 1/2 cup dried kidney beans (pre-soaked overnight)
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 3-4 celery stalks, diced
  • 2 carrots, peeled and diced
  • 1 bell pepper, sliced/diced (your favorite color, of course)
  • 4+ garlic cloves, diced
  • 1 Tablespoon Cumin
  • 1 1/2 Tablespoons Chili Powder
  • Sea Salt to Taste (about 1 teaspoon to start)
  • Tomatos: 3-4 fresh tomatoes or 2 14 ounce cans of diced tomatoes
  • 5 Cups of Water

Let me start by throwing out a few tips:

  • Soak the chick peas and red kidney beans together, overnight.  Rinse before soaking, and rinse after soaking before adding to the dish
  • The chick peas and kidney beans can be canned if you don’t have time, or forget to soak them ahead of time.  Just use 1 can of each.
  • I use a crockpot, as detailed below, but you can use a regular 5-6 quart pot.

Add the lentils, chick peas and kidney beans to the crock pot, and turn it on high.  Add the 5 cups of water, and work on getting everything else ready to go.  As your ingredients are ready to go in, simply add them!  This is one of those recipes where you add everything at one time, set it and forget it.

Throw your diced vegetables from the list into the crock pot, along with the spices.  If you’re using fresh tomatoes, throw them in now, as well.  If you’re using canned tomatoes, don’t throw them in for a few hours, yet. 

Stir up all the ingredients to get them mixed nicely, and then put the lid on, and let it cook on high for the next 3-4 hours.  This will have it ready to go in about 4 hours.  If you’re not in a big hurry, you can set it on low to begin with.

I tend to get up first thing in the morning, and throw everything in the crock pot with the intention of having the chili for lunch.  Once I start dishing it out, I turn it down to low, or turn it off, depending on if I’ll be having more for dinner!

 

 

**NOTE** You can leave out the tomatoes, all together.  I tend to do this, inadvertantly, on occasion, when I get busy and don’t think about it.  It still carries that chili smell, even without the tomatoes, and still tastes delicious!

You can serve this over some brown or basmati rice, and you can even throw some fresh onion and/or cheese on top.

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