Home-made Hoummus.

[Noodley]

Perhaps 4 cloves of garlic was a bit much

 

[Fnaar]

You can never have enough garlic, I find! It is truly the food of the gods. And I'm an atheist.

 

[Crackle]

Can you keep your mouth closed when you're posting please

(whoo an owl just flew past my window)

Does your home made hoummus taste as good as the shop stuff? Mine always comes out a bit lacking.

 

[Dave5N]

Back in my student days I had a few Arab mates - palestinians - who made the best hummus you could imagine. Never had anything like it since.

Happy days! The falafael was good too!

 

[longers]

Mine always comes out a bit lacking.

My attempt was really, really awful

 

[Noodley]

Can you keep your mouth closed when you're posting please

(whoo an owl just flew past my window)

Does your home made hoummus taste as good as the shop stuff? Mine always comes out a bit lacking.

First time I made it, and very pleased with it. I'll be reducing the number of garlic cloves next time as raw garlic has a bit of a kick to it, but other than that it turned out great.

(One benefit of the extra garlic is that the amount I ate was reduced for fear of being thrown out of the house)

 

[Pete]

Perhaps 4 cloves of garlic was a bit much

Yes. I've made exactly the same mistake. Garlic in a raw dish is very potent! We've given up making hoummous: too much trouble: bought stuff may be an inferior substitute but I can live with it.

One dish entirely composed of raw ingredients, including garlic, which I do make now and again, is guacamole. But there again, best to go really easy on the garlic. And the chillies!

 

[Bigtallfatbloke]

I agree, you can never have enough garlic.

 

[Crackle]

My attempt was really, really awful

It needs a good deal of whisking and the lemon and salt is critical. Three attempts so far and I've not been keen on any of them

 

[longers]

Is Tahini a crucial ingredient? Or even a real ingredient?

 

[Crackle]

First time I made it, and very pleased with it. I'll be reducing the number of garlic cloves next time as raw garlic has a bit of a kick to it, but other than that it turned out great.

(One benefit of the extra garlic is that the amount I ate was reduced for fear of being thrown out of the house)

Right recipe then

Tahini paste, right?
Lemon?
Garlic, obviously
Salt
Chickpeas - soaked or tinned?

Anything else?

 

[Noodley]

Here's what I used:

Tin of chick peas
2 tablespoons of tahini
Juice of one squeezed lemon
4 garlic cloves
pinch of salt
"some" water

All thrown in a blender and whizzed. It was a bit of a strain to whizz it for starters and needed "some more" water and de-clogging the blades. Very very simple. And I doubt if I'll be buying shop stuff again.

 

[Pete]

Back in my student days I had a few Arab mates - palestinians - who made the best hummus you could imagine. Never had anything like it since.

Happy days! The falafael was good too!

I know this is a boast, but I think I do a fairly mean felaffel myself! Which is entirely home-made. To go with the bought hoummous .

Not wishing to fire up the old Israel-Palestine debate here, but I will state one observation, having had experience of both:

• The Israelis are the world's worst cooks.
• The Palestinians are among the world's best.

 

[Noodley]

I also spotted pomegranate syrup today and shall be makinjg use of this soon.

 

[Pete]

Here's what I used:

Tin of chick peas
2 tablespoons of tahini
Juice of one squeezed lemon
4 garlic cloves
pinch of salt
"some" water

All thrown in a blender and whizzed. It was a bit of a strain to whizz it for starters and needed "some more" water and de-clogging the blades. Very very simple. And I doubt if I'll be buying shop stuff again.

Good. Best not done in the blender though - that was my mistake too. Use a food processor if available: you will find you get a better result with less need for water. Try adding a pinch of paprika to give it a better colour. You can save money and get better flavour with dried chick peas, but they will need an overnight soak and a lot of cooking beforehand to get them soft enough.