Beetroot and Garlic Hummus

Hummus is a popular Mid-east dip for any type of bread for breads like Pita,falafel with subtle flavours. It mostly includes Garlic and this recipe shows a slight variation with healthy addition of beetroot too. This can be a great snack for kids as such or with any main dish. It is protein packed and very healthy. A big batch of this makes a great accompaniment for salads and roti too.

Method:

1. Soak 1 big cup of Chickpea/white chenna overnight.
2. Clean well and cook them for 3 whistles. Make sure chickpea is cooked and intact. If the outer skin is peeled on their own, you can remove them roughly for a smooth hummus.
3. Split into two parts. One is for garlic hummus and other one is beetroot variation.
4. In a pan,toss 3-4 tblspn of white sesame seeds till slightly browned. Cool them.
5. Roughly chop 10 medium size garlic cloves.
6. Add sesame into mixer and grind into powder. Add 1 tspn olive oil and grind it for few seconds until creamy. Remove 1/4 part of it for Beetroot hummus.

Garlic Hummus:

1. Now in same mixture, add 6-7 garlic cloves along with sesame, a part of chickpea from first batch and grind. Add very little water 1 tblspn,1 tspn olive oil at a time.
2. Add rest of the chickpea, salt,1 tspn cumin powder, 1 tspn pepper powder or 1 dry red chilli and grind into smooth paste. The same rule follows for adding water and oil. Grind till required consistency.
3. Do not thin out so much if planning for longer shelf life. You can add water ,olive oil,mayonnaise or a bit of yoghurt later while serving too.
4. After transferring to a bowl, add lemon juice from 1 lemon.

Beetroot hummus:

1. Cut 1/4 beetroot into small pieces and grind them separately with very less water into smooth puree. Keep it aside.
2. Add 1/4 part of Tahini/sesame mix, 3-4 garlic cloves,1/2 part of cooked chickpea,1 tblspn olive oil and grind smoothly.
3. Add water 1 tblspn at a time to coarsely grind the mix. Add 2 tblspn of beetroot puree and make it a smooth paste.
4. 1 tspn cumin powder, 1 tspn pepper powder,salt are to be added.
5. Add lemon juice from 1 lemon finally.

You can top it with chilli flakes, fresh olives,any fresh herb,some olive oil while serving. It tastes great after chilled. Use beetroot hummus within couple of days,but garlic hummus stays good even for a week when stored as thick paste.

Checkout the recipe of Falafel for which hummus makes a great dip. Ingredients are the same.

Chickpea and Red bean Falafel Curry