Hummus – Tasty Food, Happy Life

It was my aunty who introduced me to this refreshingly tasty food item. My aunty works in Saudi Arabia and I once paid a visit to her house when she was here on vacation. She prepared hummus for lunch and I was curious to learn what it really was. She told me that it was widely known as Arabic dip. At first, I was not interested in it and even considered skipping it but I did not want to hurt my aunt's feelings and finally decided to taste it. To my surprise, it tasted wonderful and I fell in love with it. I got the recipe from her and I prepared it myself. I think it is safe to say that my hummus turned out to be an instant success and it gave me the inspiration to prepare it over and over again. In fact, I searched for its variations on the net and found other interesting recipes. Here they are.

Creamy Yogurt Hummus

Garbanzo beans         1 can (15.5 ounces)
Garlic                             1 clove
Salt                                 1 teaspoon
Fresh lemon juice       1/2 cup
Plain non-fat yogurt     2/3 cup

How to prepare it

Process the garbanzo beans in a food blender or food processor. Make a mixture out of the garlic, salt, lemon juice and yogurt. I used a coffee filter to drain the yogurt. I was not sure about the outcome but thankfully, it worked. Mix it up well and the mouthwatering hummus is ready.

Hummus Turkey Burgers
Very thinly sliced cucumber              1 large
Crumbled low-fat feta cheese          1/2 cup
Red wine vinegar                                2 1/2 tablespoons
Chopped fresh parsley                      3/4 cup
Extra virgin olive oil                             4 tablespoons
Salt and pepper as per the taste
Ground turkey                                     1 1/2 pounds
Roasted red pepper hummus        1 cup
Ground coriander                               2 teaspoons
Halved whole wheat pitas                4
Lettuce leaves (optional) as per the need

Directions to be followed

Take a bowl and mix up the cucumber, feta, vinegar, 2 tablespoons of parsley, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Wrap it tightly and keep it in the refrigerator. Take another bowl and combine 1/2 cup of the roasted red pepper hummus, the turkey mince, the remaining parsley, coriander, and pepper. Divide the mixture into eight patties, each with a ½ inch thickness. Heat a cast-iron skillet under average temperature and put in 1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add four patties into it and cook them for 4 minutes until they turn brown in color. Shift them to a serving plate and pour the leftover olive oil into the skillet and cook the other patties. Take a bowl and mix up the unused 1/2 cup of hummus with 1 tablespoon of hot water. Distribute the mixture inside each pita half and fill it up with cucumber mixture. I am not a fan of cucumber and hence, I use the mixture of chopped red onion and chopped cooked beets instead of cucumber mixture and I add lettuce leaves simply because lettuce leaves give an interesting twist to the taste. However, if you have no liking for lettuce, then feel free to omit it from your ingredient list. When set, serve your guests with this unparalleled food item.

If you want to show off your cooking talent, then I strongly recommend you to make an attempt to prepare these hummus dishes at home. I guarantee that your relatives and friends will be after you begging for the recipes. For other delicious hummus recipes, please visit Femina's website (also known in Danish lækre hummus opskrifter fra Femina).