Chickpeas are often used in oriental cooking.
The most popular chickpea dishes are falafel and hummus,
which we will cook with you today.
Onions are soaked in hot water.
It is important that the water is not only hot, but also soft.
If the water in your area is hard, add a teaspoon of baking soda.
Then rinse properly, there will be no trace of soda.
It is often advised to soak overnight,
but the better the chickpeas, the faster they swell.
But at least it should be soaked for 2-3 hours.
Only attention, no salt.
Look what a miracle happened to chickpeas.
Its volume has almost doubled.
So the chickpeas were good. Congratulations on the right choice.
This means that it will cook quite quickly, in 2-3 hours.
Yes, 2-3 hours is normal for chickpeas.
But I have not yet seen a single cook
who would rush between the stopwatch and the scales and cook something delicious.
There are more important things in cooking.
For example, it is better to cook chickpeas in fresh water,
and the water should be 3-4 times more in volume than the chickpea itself.
Sometimes you should pay attention to the pan, whether the water has boiled away.
Well, after 1.5-2 hours it’s worth trying to see if the chickpeas are cooked.
Squeeze the pea between the pads of two fingers.
If it does not choke, the chickpeas are not yet ready, continue cooking.
Peas for hummus must be cooked very well.
It should squeeze between two fingers very lightly, like this.
Transfer the peas to a bowl of clean, cold water.
What I will show you next is not done by all chefs, by no means in every restaurant.
This is only done in royal kitchens.
You can see that after boiling, part of the shells separated from the chickpeas.
Now the chickpeas need to be mashed.
Well, many people think that the shell will also be torn, it will not be noticeable.
It won't be noticeable, but a good cook who respects himself and his eaters
separates the shells from the peas.
The peas are heavy, the shells are lighter, they float in cold water.
And in the old days, I saw
how women, preparing for ceremonial events,
separated the shell even after soaking.
And all the peas in the dish were cooked in halves.
And it was much harder.
Understand correctly, I do not insist that in everyday home cooking
it is necessary to do such complex manipulations with products in
order to achieve some kind of extraordinary result,
but it is very useful to know about these methods.
Didn't I tell you that the hot water in which the peas were boiled would still be needed?
Salt the peas. For 450 g of dry peas that we originally had,
I added one tablespoon of salt.
But the amount of water and all other ingredients will have to be selected,
but it is very simple.
The ultimate goal is to get a very tasty puree with the right consistency.
For now I take 3 small ladles and a blender.
Probably, once upon a time in ancient times, hummus was prepared with a mortar,
but now the use of a blender or any other kitchen equipment is quite justified,
because the taste of hummus will not deteriorate due to a blender,
but its consistency will be much better, smoother, smoother.
Perhaps worth a try. What about salt, what about consistency?
And now I will introduce you to another very amazing Middle Eastern product,
however, it is familiar to almost everyone.
These are sesame seeds ground into a paste.
In different languages ​​and dialects, it is called where tkhina, where tahina.
It is more convenient for me to say "tahina" in Russian.
Yes, and sellers in supermarkets are more likely to tell you
where the tahina is, on which shelf.
Usually in the same place where all kinds of sauces and seasonings for oriental cuisine.
The amazing thing is, you add quite a bit of tahini,
and it thickens even hot sauce, even cold clean water.
Many cooks prefer to dilute the tahini with ice water
to make a thick, sour cream-like white sauce.
But this does not affect the taste and thickening properties of tahini, believe me.
So I take whatever water I have on hand,
the hot water in which the peas have been boiled,
which still has the taste of the peas themselves.
I have never tried to grind sesame seeds into such a paste,
but it seems that a blender will not cope with this task,
a mortar will be needed here.
Tahini gives the pea puree solidity,
pleasant oiliness and the necessary thickness,
because now some more liquids will have to be added to the hummus,
which will give the hummus a special taste.
For example, lemon gives freshness, sourness,
and along with other seasonings and spices,
which we will talk about a little later, whets the appetite.
After all, hummus is very often served as part of a snack that
precedes a big lunch or dinner.
However, for the common people, hummus was very often
both a good reliable breakfast and a snack in the midst of a working day.
Therefore, vegetable oil is added to hummus.
Those who are richer take olive oil, those who just want to eat tasty, take
the oil that is in the kitchen.
A little red pepper, as we have already said, for appetizing.
A little cumin to give the necessary oriental flavor.
And crushed garlic. When preparing mashed potatoes or soups,
do not lay everything at once, lay half of the spices and those products
that greatly affect the taste.
Then you can take a sample and always add if something is missing.
And how to remove the excess?
But butter, like porridge, does not spoil hummus.
But the more oil, the more other spices and especially lemon juice.
Lemon juice and oil should create a nice balance,
feeling and freshness, a fairly light meal yet hearty solidity.
In this case, everyone can focus on their individual taste.
It is only necessary to keep in mind that the hotness of pepper
can increase later, as the hot substances dissolve in the oil,
but lemon juice and salt manifest themselves immediately.
There should be enough salt in the hummus that you can put a little hummus on your tongue
and your mouth should fill with saliva.
After all, hummus is usually eaten with bread,
and those who are richer fry small pieces of lamb for hummus.
No lamb, you can fry small slices of eggplant.
But for serving on a solemn, festive table, hummus is decorated.
Pay attention to the density of the puree.
In general, it must be borne in mind
that hummus is prepared from Morocco and all Arab countries up to Turkey.
Tens of millions of people consider it their native national dish. It
is not surprising that there are a great many variations of hummus,
and there are no opinions about how thick it should be,
what color real hummus should acquire
.
Focus on your personal taste, take an example from me.
I love garnishing my hummus with a good olive oil.
Pour a couple of spoons into the hole in the middle of the plate.
And red moderately hot pepper.
Well, there is already pepper in the hummus itself,
and with this pepper we just show that
we look carefully, spicy, peppery.
However, it is so moderately spicy, so moderately peppered
that even children love it, they just eat it with spoons.
But when they want to show that hummus is prepared for special people,
not halam-balam, but with olive oil, hummus is decorated with olives, black olives.
Well, for foreigners, for those guests who do not know what hummus is,
hummus is decorated, in fact, with peas themselves.
A few peas are left in order to show what kind of puree it is.
And this is sumac, a crushed berry,
which carries not a berry-sour taste, but an acetic-sour taste.
And it's very tasty, and it's very appropriate.
A little red hot pepper powder just for decoration.
If you don't want so much pepper, well, no problem,
take dried mint, rub it between your fingers
and sprinkle with powder instead of pepper.
In any case, you will have an excuse to say "bon appetit" to your guests.
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Bon Appetit!