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Revision as of 06:54, 16 July 2004 by 24.157.140.91 (talk)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Hummus (hummis, houmous, hommus, or humus) is a dip made of chickpea paste with various additions (such as olive oil, fresh garlic, lemon juice, and tahini). It is popular all over the Middle East, Turkey, Greece, Cyprus, and increasingly in countries such as the UK and the US. It is usually scooped up with flatbread (pieces of pita) to be eaten.
Hummus is relatively cheap to make at home. Many domestic hummus recipes use dried chickpeas as they are cheaper than canned chickpeas. The dried chickpeas must be soaked in water overnight and then simmered for an hour to cook them, before blending (e.g., with a hand blender or food processor) with the other ingredients. Garlic salt, cumin, and chili powder make excellent flavoursome additions as well as the oil, lemon juice, and tahini already mentioned.
With a slightly salty taste and rough texture, punctuated with a garlic tang, houmous is especially delicious eaten with celery and other raw vegetables.
It is also a nutritious food, containing a large amount of protein and mono-unsaturated fat. It is suitable for vegetarians and vegans. It makes a nice light lunch: spread in on a dessert-sized plate, pour some good virgin olive oil over it, garnish with parsley, paprika, and/or thin-sliced onions (etc.), and scoop up with pita.
It has no relation to the biological matter in soil called humus.
Houmous can be usually be found in the chilled section of supermarkets and at delicatessens.
See also: Greek cuisine, Turkish cuisine