In the chickpea world there are two hummus spheres — one’s that’s all garlic and the other that dares to go where no one has gone before. Experimenting with new flavours of hummus that will tempt you to dip your lavash or pita bread into it, take a bite and then go in for some more. Those are exactly the kind of flavours we are focusing on today, speaking to chefs about their innovative chickpea dips.
All beat and harissa!
A traditional hummus, even when prepared at home is generally made with chickpeas, tahini, garlic, lemon juice and olive oil. However, that’s not the only way to go, as discovered by Chef Anees Khan of Star Anise Cafe, who has created both beetroot and harissa hummus flavours. He says, “We decided to try something new and came up with the beetroot and harissa hummus flavours. Beets add a ruby colour and a dose of folic acid to the healthy hummus. Add in a few spoons of creme cheese and it gives a nice smoothness to the dish. Harissa is synonymous with Middle Eastern food and it gives a nice zing and spiciness to the hummus that we Indians love.
The roasted red pepper takes this hummus to a different level along with walnuts.” And if some extra lime zest is what you are looking for, you should probably try The Little Door’s Kaffir Lime Hummus. Tanu Narang, co-owner of The Little Door, says, “We have tried to add a fresh twist to hummus with our version of the Lemongrass and Kaffir Lime Hummus, which goes well with lavash or pita bread.”
Making hummus our own!
Giving a desi treatment to this Middle Eastern favourite is NRI’s take of it. Dubbed the Pind Da Hummus, this spiced chickpea puree is served with fritters. Chef Siddharth Kalyanaraman, head chef NRI, says, “The concept behind the dish was to give Hummus and Falafel, an Indian flavour whilst not depleting the integrity of the original dish. The chickpea puree is made with traditional Punjabi Chole, Indian spices and masalas and the fritters are a Dal Vada take on a falafel.” The Middle Eastern favourite with a desi touch is as tempting and delicious as the original.
A South American twist to a Mediterranean staple
Chef Siddharth Kashyap, chef and partner at The Boston Butt, says, “As we are a Southern American restaurant, we wanted to include nachos being an American (Mexican) snack but wanted it to have our own spin on it. So we smoked the aubergine since we are a smoke house which gives it a lovely kick to the hummus texture and taste. We created three flavours. The nachos are made out of red sweet bell peppers so it gives it a lovely colour and taste. It’s The Boston Butt’s take on the regular mezze platter. What you get is four- flavoured hummus-cilantro jalapeno, roasted pepper, smoked aubergine, cheese yellow cheddar and house pickled jalapeno.”
Try hummus ice cream!
While Papacream has previously tasted success with their nachos with cheese (Mexicano) ice cream, they decided to push the envelope with their hummus flavoured ice cream. Owner Tanvi Chowdhri, shares, “People have become more experimental with food. Taking that into account Papacream has introduced a range of savoury ice creams including the hummus flavoured one, which is both bold and unique.”
So, go ahead, and enjoy this Mediterranean dip in its many avatars.
Did you know?
During the shoot of The Dark Knight Rises and Les Miserables, Anne Hathaway was surviving only on radishes and hummus. And at one point was consuming just 500 calories a day.
