Perfect Hummus : IHCC

"Got A Pulse?" is the theme for last week at I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC). And the Optional Monthly Community Recipe for this month is Hummus. I'm late with this post, been busy the whole of last week, but I'm not going to miss out on making hummus, something that I've been wanting to do for ages. The current featured chef at IHCC is Yotam Ottolenghi, whose recipes we are cooking from until September, and so far, his recipes has been fantastic!

Here's the "Perfect Hummus", as called by Yotam Ottolenghi. Now I can understand what the fuss is all about in bloggerland about Hummus, this is darn right delicious! And so, easy peasy to make! I love it! I ate these delicious Hummus with some wholemeal tortilla wraps which I toasted till crispy, yummy!

The recipe calls for dried chickpeas to be soaked overnight and boiled for a few hours until soft. But I have taken the easy way by using canned chickpeas. And also one of the main ingredients is Tahini, which is too expensive, since they are imported! So I have made my own Tahini paste, and it is extremely cheap to make your own, the cost is only about less than fifteen percent of what you would pay for a jar of Tahini. 

The chickpeas are processed with the Tahini paste, garlic, lemon juice to taste, a pinch of cumin powder and some salt to taste, and some cool cooked water is added in, to make a loose paste.

To make the Tahini paste, first of all, pan roast some sesame seeds (I used 2 cups) until lightly brown, taking care not to brown it too much. Leave to cool completely and process in the food processor with some canola oil and a pinch of salt until smooth and creamy. Store in a airtight jar and keep in the refrigerator. Tahini paste may taste a little bitter, but once some lemon juice is added in when using it to make Hummus, there's not a trace of bitterness in it at all.

Please do stop by I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC) to view the delicious dishes that my friends have made for the theme "Got A Pulse?", and if you are interested to join us, please find out more details from IHCC.

Perfect Hummus

(source from : guardian, Yotam Ottolenghi)

200gm dried chickpeas
1-1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
6 tbsps tahini
juice of 1 lemon, or more to taste
3 cloves garlic, crushed, or according to taste
pinch of cumin
salt to taste
olive oil, to top
paprika or zaatar, to top (optional)

1. Put the chickpeas in a bowl and cover with twice the volume of cold water. Stir in 1 tsp of bicarbonate of soda and leave to soak for 24 hours.
2. Drain the chickpeas, rinse well and put in a large pan. Cover withcold water and add the rest of the bicarbonate of soda. Bring to the boil, then turn down the heat and simmer gently until they're tender - they need to be easy to mush, and almost falling apart, which will take between 1 and 4 hours depending on your chickpeas. Add more hot water if they seem to be boiling dry. (I skipped the first two steps, as I've used canned chickpeas).
3. Leave them to cool in the water, and then drain well, reserving the cooking liquid, and setting aside a spoonful of chickpeas as a garnish. Mix the tahini with half of the lemon juice and half the crushed garlic - it should tighten up - then stir in enough cooled cooking liquid to make a loose paste. Add this, and the chickpeas, to a food processor and whizz to make a paste.
4. Add the cumin and a generous pinch of salt, then gradually tip in enough cooking water to give a soft paste - it should just hold its shape, but not be claggy. Taste, and add more lemon juice, garlic or salt according to taste.
5. Tip into a bowl, and when ready to serve, drizzle with olive oil, garnish with the reserved chickpeas and sprinkle with paprika or za'tar if using.

Homemade Tahini Paste
2 cups white sesame seeds
1/4 cup canola oil
pinch of salt

Pan-toast the sesame seeds over low heat in dry saucepan until lightly browned, taking care not to let the seeds become too brown. Transfer toasted sesame seeds into a big plate or kitchen paper towel to cool completely. Process in food processor with some canola oil and a pinch of salt until smooth and creamy. Store in strelized jars and keep in the refrigerator.

Easy Chickpea Curry : IHCC

"One Pot Wonders" is our theme for this week at I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC), where we are currently cooking from Madhur Jaffrey's recipes. This will be our second last post for Madhur Jaffrey's theme, next week will be the last one. We will be starting with a new chef Yotam Ottolenghi starting from April. Ever heard of him? He is a chef specializes in Mediterranean cooking. He is most famous for his delicious vegetarian recipes. Interested to join in? Drop by IHCC to get further details.

Easy Chickpea Curry is an easy and quick dish to prepare. I made this as a One Pot Wonder during one of the weekday's lunch. 

A very nice and simple vegetarian chickpea curry.

We had it with some paratha. I have a pack of frozen paratha in my freezer, and since it does not require thawing, I simply pan-fry it when it is time to serve, at the same time, simply reheat the curry gently, just to warm it up. This is a really quick meal to put together. My kids really enjoyed the Easy Chickpea Curry with the paratha.

To view other delicious One Pot Wonder, please stop by I Heart Cooking Clubs.

Easy Chickpea Curry
Serves 4-6
350gm (12 oz) drained-weight tinned chickpeas (from a 540gm can)
2 tomatoes, about 225gm (8oz)
5cm (2in) pieces fresh ginger, peeled
4 garlic cloves, peeled
3-6 fresh hot green chillies
25gm (1oz) fresh coriander leaves
1 tablespoon ground coriander
2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoons ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt
2 medium potatoes, about 255gm (8oz) peeled
140gm (5oz) onion
corn, peanut or olive oil
1 medium stick cinnamon
5 whole cardamom pods
2 bay leaves

Step One
Leave the chickpeas to drain in a colander.

Step Two

Chop the tomatoes, ginger, garlic, chillies and coriander leaves and put in a blender with the ground coriander, cumin, turmeric, cayenne pepper, 1 teaspoon salt and 5-6 tablespoons water. Blend until smooth, pushing down with a rubber spatula when necessary.

Step Three

Cut the potatoes into 2cm (3/4 in) dice. Finely chop the onions. Pour 3 tablespoons oil into a wide, medium, lidded pan set over a medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the cinnamon, cardamom and bay leaves. Ten seconds later, add the onions and potatoes. Stir and fry for about 6 minutes or until the onions are lightly browned. Add the paste from the blender. Stir for a minute. Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook for 6-7 minutes, lifting the lid now and then to stir. Add the chickpeas, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 250ml (8fl oz) water. Stir and bring to a simmer. Cover, and cook gently on a low heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Tarka Dal And Flaky Flatbreads with Cumin Seeds

Lentil Love, is our theme for this week at I Heart Cooking Club (IHCC), where we are currently cooking from Madhur Jaffrey's recipes. Though I cook Indian food every so often, I have seldom used lentils, probably just a couple of times. This week's theme is the perfect time for me to try out other lentil recipes. I decided to cook Tarka Dal along with Flaky Flatbreads with Cumin Seeds to go with the dal curry.

I usually have dal curry at our local Indian restaurants where we sometimes had our weekend breakfast of Indian rotis and dal curry. I once cooked our local version of dal curry with some vegetables added in, and some coconut milk as well. This is a different version out of so many others, and seems so much simpler with just a few ingredients. So I decided to give this a try since I have both lentils in my pantry.

This is really so simple and easy to cook. Both the lentils are boiled together along with the turmeric powder until soft and mushy. Salt is then added in. The spices are sauteed separately (tempering) and then added to the cooked lentils, cover the pot to trap the aromas for a few minutes before serving. I was rather surprised to find that it is quite tasty and smells good. The next time when I cooked this, I'm going to use this as a dal curry base and mix in with some chopped carrots, potatoes, radish and sometimes green beans, as what we usually have over here. It is going to be another version of  delicious pot of dal curry! Of course, dal curry is always great with any Indian breads, and I have made some breads to go along with it.

This flaky flatbread tastes a little like our local Chapati. It is crusty and dry on the outside and soft on the inside. The cumin seeds and fresh coriander gives it a nice aroma. Here I have used a mixture of wholemeal flour and plain flour, an option if you do not have chapati flour, as advised by Madhur Jaffrey.

We had this for our weekend lunch. I'm looking forward to cook the dal curry again with some veggies added in!

To view other delicious lentil meals, please stop by I Heart Cooking Clubs and click on the linky link. 

Tarka Dal
(adapted from "Simple Indian Cookery" by Madhur Jaffrey)
(You may combine the two dals, or use just one of them)
75gm (3oz) yellow split peas (skinned mung dal)
75gm (3oz) split red lentils (masoor dal)
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
900ml (1-1/2 pints) water
1 to 1-1/4 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons olive or groundnut oil
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 hot dried red chillies
1 garlic clove, lightly crushed but left whole, then peeled

1. Put the two dals in a bowl and wash in several changes of water, then drain. Empty the dals into a heavy-based pan and add the turmeric and water. Stir and bring to a boil. Quickly (before the pan can boil over) turn the heat down to low, then partly cover the pan and simmer gently for 40-45 minutes, until the dals are very soft. Stir in the salt, turn off the heat and cover the pan.
2. Put the oil in a small frying pan and set it over a medium-high heat. When it is very hot, put in the cumin seeds and chillies. As soon as the chillies darken - a matter of seconds - put in the garlic.
3. When the garlic has browned lightly, lift up the frying pan with one hand and, with the other, take the lid off the dal pan. Pour the contents of the frying pan - oil and spices - over the dal and then put the lid back on for a few minutes to trap the aromas.

Flaky Flarbreads with Cumin Seeds
(adapted from "Simple Indian Cookery" by Madhur Jaffrey)
300gm (11oz) chapati flour (or a half and half mixture of sifted wholemeal flour and plain white flour)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cumin seeds, lightly crushed in a mortar
2 teaspoons very finely chopped green chillies
2 tablespoons very finely chopped fresh coriander
2 tablespoons olive oil or groundnut oil
250ml (8fl oz) water
1 teaspoon very finely grated fresh root ginger
50-75gm (2-3oz) melted butter or ghee
freshly ground black pepper

1. Combine the flour, salt, black pepper, cumin seeds, chillies and coriander in a large bowl and drizzle the oil over the top. Rub the oil and seasonings into the flour with your fingers.
2. Put the water in a cup and stir in the ginger. Slowly add enough water to the flour mixture to make a soft but manageable dough, mixing and kneading as you do so - you will need anything from 175ml to all of the gingery water. Knead the dough - either in the bowl or on a work surface - for about 10 minutes, until smooth.
3. Put the dough in a bowl and cover with clingfilm or a damp tea-towel. Set aside for 30 minutes, then knead the dough again and divide it into 8 balls. Flatten each ball slightly to make a patty.
4. Set an Indian tava, cast-iron griddle or cast-iron frying pan on a medium-high heat. Give it time to get very hot. Meanwhile, dust your work surface and rolling pin with flour. Roll out one dough patty into a cm (6 in) round. Drizzle 1 teaspoon of the melted butter or ghee over the surface and spread it evenly with the back of the teaspoon.
5. Fold one end of the round over itself in such a way that a third of the round is still uncovered. Then fold the uncovered end over the rest to form a rectangle of sorts. Drizzle 1/2 teaspoon of melted butter or ghee over the rectangle and spread it out with the back of the spoon.
6. Fold this rectangle over itself in such a way that a third is left exposed. Now fold the third over the rest to make a small square. Roll out this square into a much larger one, about 14-15cm (5-1/2 to 6in) on each side. You may need to dust it with flour now and then.
7. Lift up the paratha and slap it into the centre of the hot pan. Cook for 30 seconds or until the dough turns white on top and light brown spots appear on the bottom.
8. Spread 1 teaspoon of melted butter or ghee over the top of the paratha and turn it over. Cook it for another 15 seconds. Turn the paratha 4 more times, every 15 seconds, without adding any more melted butter or ghee. The paratha is done when it has light brown spots, is slightly crisp on the outside and soft (but cooked through) on the inside. Make the remaining parathas in the same way.

Honey Barbecue Baked Beans : IHCC

It's Esta Rojo! at I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC) for this week. It's all about red and shades of red, where we are cooking from Rick Bayless's recipes until end of September.

I have been cooking for the past five months plus now, from Rick Bayless's recipes and only realized that Rick Bayless is an American and not a Mexican! I was really, really surprised, as I have always thought of him as a Mexican guy! I was busy sourcing for his delicious recipes, when it suddenly hit me, that I know next to nothing at all about him, and I only watched two or three of his shows. So I googled for more info and was really surprised to find out that he was born in Oklahoma and his family has no roots at all in Mexico. You may read more about him from Wikipedia.

Since this week's theme is "red", I decided to make Chipotle Honey Barbecued Baked Beans which I  have bookmarked for months. I bought a can of Pinto beans for this recipe months ago. The recipe calls for smoked bacon, but since I do not have that, I use canned luncheon meat, I know it is not the same, but it tastes just as delicious when baked together with the beans. Besides, luncheon meat is great with canned  baked beans in tomato sauce. This recipe also calls for Chipotle Hot Sauce, but I just use what I had, a small bottle of my homemade Rick Bayless Hot Sauce, which I made months ago, and just great for this recipe.

The luncheon meat, onions and red bell pepper are stir-fried, then the rest of the ingredients are added in. I made half a recipe, using only one can of pinto beans and I find that I needed to use the full amount of honey, just adjust to your taste accordingly. And since I do not have a dutch oven, I used a baking dish to bake the beans in the oven. It took about  1-1/4 hours for the sauce to thicken.

And the result is a delicious bowl of baked beans!

Love the vibrant deep rich colour! All the flavours came through really yummy. It is mildly spicy, my son commented on that, but he finished a small bowl, saying that it was good. I served this with another of Rick Bayless's yummies, but that's for another week!

Yum!

I'll be visiting my friends at I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC) to see other delicious "Red" yummies from Rick Bayless's wonderful recipes, come join me and see what the others have came up with, who knows, you might just be inspired to try on some Mexican cooking!

I'm sharing this with :

Full Plate Thursday hosted by Miz Helen's Country Cottage

Recipe Box hosted by Bizzy Bakes

 Chipotle Honey Barbecue Baked Beans
(source from : Fronterafiesta, Rick Bayless)
4 thick slices smoked bacon, diced ( I use luncheon meat)
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 sweet onion, chopped
1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
3 tablespoons Frontera Chipotle Hot Sauce (I use my homemade RB Hot Sauce)
3 tablespoons honey
1-1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon salt
3 cans (15 ounces each) pinto beans, drained and rinsed

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cook bacon, red pepper and onion in small Dutch oven or ovenproof saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly, until onion is crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.
2. Stir in 2 cups water, tomato paste, hot sauce, honey, Worcestershire sauce and salt. Mix well. Stir in the beans. Bake, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until beans are nicely glazed and pan juices thickened, about 1 hour. Serve hot.

Notes : These beans are best when made a day or two in advance and then reheated before serving. Reheat in a 350 degrees oven about 45 minutes.