Everything
You Wanted To Know About Hummus (aka Hommos, Homos, hummis bil tahini)
But Were Afraid To Ask
Ten years ago in the States no one
but a handful of vegetarians knew what hummus was. Today it's all the
rage. This odd looking dipping sauce has been around for thousands,
that's right, thousands of years however, and it is definitely here
to stay.
Hummus is Arabic for "chickpea" and
is a staple good for every meal in this modern age. It's what falafel
is also made out of. Usually you will see it called "Hummus bil Tahini"
which means Hummus with ("bil" = "with" - see our learn Arabic page)
Tahini sauce mixed in (Tahini is a sesame paste).
The mainstay of the dip is the chickpea,
AKA garbanzo bean, which is a vegetable that has been grown and harvested
for some 7,000 years, both in India and the Middle East. Since when
have people mushed it up, added garlic & oil and sopped it up with pita
bread? Many areas of the world claim to be the originators of many common
dishes. Where does hummus come from? The answer is everywhere.
The main way to eat hummus is by mixing
a little tahina (AKA tahini) with it. You can buy this at your local
ethnic grocer, or somewhere online (not here, yet!). Most premade hummus
already has tahini in it. The best canned hummus, if you are going to
be lazy about it, is Cortas (and I don't get any money for saying so).
There is another common brand in a green can which is not as good.
The Cortas hummus should be mixed already
with tahini, so just add some garlic powder, lemon juice and olive oil
and you're good to go (start dippin!).
Hummus is used in making falafel and
sometimes couscous as well. It can also be added to your shawarma
(if the shawarma is the Arabian taco then hummus is Arabian ketchup
and falafel is Arabian french fries).
Click here
for our mumtaz hummus recipe (from scratch) --->
