Real Hummus recipe

Making hummus isn’t that hard. It’s not only a matter of recipe, though, but also HOW you make it. For that reason, our simple recipe for traditional homemade hummus, comes with a little of our hummus-philosophy.

There’s nothing like good homemade hummus. Making good Hummus isn’t just about having a good recipe, though. True, there are quantities to keep and procedures to follow, but in order to make a really good hummus you must - first of all - do it many times, preferably for years.

[Tip: Looking for a quick fix? Try one of these: The Quick Tahini Recipe, the Arbis chickpea snack or the Real Falafel recipe . These are all far less intellectually challenging].

Home made hummus. Mine.

But if you’re ready to go all the way and make real hummus, than “we have the technology”. True, it’s better to be old, wise and skillful, but this doesn’t mean you can’t make a tasty hummus the first time you try. And it will probably taste 10 times better than any packaged hummus you can buy, and be 10 times healthier as well (read more here). And with time, you will get the touch and become a hummus expert.

A hummus made right, will not make you feel heavy or bloated after you eat it. It will not make you - excuse my French - fart like crazy, either. It should go down smoothly, leaving you light and happy, and in a cheerful mood.

To solve the gas problem, BTW, you should soak the chickpeas in clean water for 10-15 hours, switch them at list once, and take off the foam that appears over the boiling water during the cooking. That’s all.

Also, washing the chickpeas well between every two stes of the making, will hekp you leave out the aftertastes.

There are lots of different hummus recipes. The recipe before you, is accurate and well tested, but feel free to experiment. Good luck!

What you’ll nead (Ingredients)
[4 large bowls of Hummus]
2 cups dried chickpea grains
1/2 cup tahini
juice from 1 squeezed lemon
1-2 garlic cloves
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 + 1/8-1/4 teaspoon baking soda
salt
olive oil
parsley

How do I make that into Hummus? (
Directions)
[Brut: 10-20 hours. Net: 30 minutes]

1. Poor the chickpeas over a large plate. Go over them and look for damaged grains small stones, or any other thing you would rather leave out of the plate.

2. Wash the chickpeas several times, until the water is transparent. Soak them in clean water over night with 1 teaspoon of baking soda. Then, switch the water and soak for a few more hours. The grains should absorb most of the water and double their volume, more or less.

3. Wash the chickpeas well and put them in a large pot. Cover with water, add the rest baking soda and NO salt. Cook until the grains are easily smashed when pressed between two fingers. It should take around 1.5-2 hours, during which it is advised to switch the water once again, and remove the peels which float over the cooking water. When done, sieve the grains and keep the cooking water.

4. Put the chickpeas into a food processor and grind well. Leave it to chill before you continue.

5. Add the tahini and the rest of the ingredients and go on with the food processor until you get the desired texture. If the Humus is too thick, add some of the cooking water.

Serve with some good olive oil and chopped parsley.

Comments

75 Responses to “Real Hummus recipe”

  1. The emerging hummus market at Humus101 - Humus Secrets UNITED STATES on March 5th, 2007 4:00 am

    […] In Israel, a recent study has decreased packaged hummus sales a bit, showing it’s nutritional value is inferior to that of a freshly made hummus. Since ”hummusiot“ - restaurants which specialize in hummus - are very common in Israel, it is relatively easy to replace the industrial substitute with the original dish. Israeli manufacturers such as Strauss, Tsabar and others, address Israeli market with low calorie products for some time, and there are also a few health food restaurants in Israel, selling organic hummus. But the simple truth is there nothing like the freshly homemade hummus (and here is our hummus recipe, btw). Share:Instant Social Bookmarks […]

  2. dan bennett UNITED STATES on March 15th, 2007 3:49 pm
  3. the chocolate lady UNITED STATES on April 12th, 2007 10:37 am

    Please have a look at my hummus recipe.
    I do think it is one of the best.

  4. Josh ISRAEL on April 12th, 2007 11:55 am

    I have a specific problem: My wife is allergic to sesame, and as a result I can’t make hummus with Tehini. Has anyone experimented with making hummus without that ingredient?

  5. Mare UNITED STATES on April 13th, 2007 11:28 pm

    If this tastes even half as good as it looks… Mmmm.

    Josh, can your wife tolerate just a litte Oriental sesame oil, such as Kadoya? I once used that (it doesn’t take much!) when I was out of tahini, and it was pretty good.

  6. jaebird CANADA on April 15th, 2007 11:34 pm

    In regards to your wife’s allergies:

    A teaspoon of PENUT BUTTER - two teaspoons should suffice. However, liquid amounts have to be slightly lowered to compensate.

    OR, grinding up SUNFLOWER SEEDS works very well as a substitue.

    Both of these come out sweeter (specially the penut butter one). Usually I up the garlic scale to compensate.

    Hope this helps, for the love of hummous.

  7. musicalchef UNITED STATES on April 17th, 2007 11:39 pm

    Yes, I’ve seen Alton Brown make it with peanut butter. Health food stores should sell the unsweetened variety.

    Thanks for the recipe. I love hummus! What does the baking soda do?

    The best hummus i’ve ever had was in La Shish in Detroit. But i’m moving to Jordan soon, so that might change…

  8. Bao UNITED STATES on April 24th, 2007 5:20 am

    I tried to make hummus from dried chick peas last night. I did the steps more or less as stated above but the outcome is that the chick peas is lacking taste. I can taste a bit of the the garlic and lemon but the chick peas base is just plain, like a loaf of bread. What might be the reason for this problem? I just got a food processor and want to make some good homemade hummus for my family ;->

  9. shooky ISRAEL on April 25th, 2007 2:42 am

    Dear Bao,
    Next time you make hummus pay attention to these things:
    a. You should look for chickpea with smaller grains, not the Mexican garbanzos.
    b. see that you are using a really good tahini - taste it, if it’s good it should taste good also when it’s raw. The name Al-Wadi popped-up here, as a possible good brand.
    c. in principle, the flavor of most ingredients may vary. So feel free to experiment with the amounts. A little more of this, a little more of that - if you know both the desired taste and texture, you should come around it sooner or later.

  10. Dayna UNITED STATES on April 26th, 2007 4:20 pm

    Do you know of a good website that chickpeas can be ordered on? A Whole Foods store is about 2 hours a way - do you think they are stocked there? There is a small health foods store in my city - what types of chick peas should I ask them to carry? Thanks so much!

  11. Bao UNITED STATES on April 29th, 2007 6:53 am

    shooky,

    Thanks for your advice. I think the chick peas is the vital part of the recipe and I guess I just got it wrong. I am not sure if I used the Mexican garbanzos but the brand is ‘Goya’. Is there any brand or shop that you recommend?

    Bao

  12. Jillyanne UNITED STATES on May 7th, 2007 8:05 pm

    Mmmm. I can’t wait to try it. What a great blog and recipe. I am orginally from Detroit and miss the delightful hummus I could get there. Living in Indiana, nothing compares. I’ll just have to make my own!

  13. shooky ISRAEL on May 7th, 2007 8:32 pm

    Jillyanne - thanks for your kind compliments. This blog is still very young. It Hebrew older brother, which is 6 month older, is already affecting the local hummus market. We got a lot of fans, sending us emails constantly. Everybody in the hummus places knows us, and since we also post reviews there, they are also eager to be reviewed.
    This will probably take longer, but the ultimate goal of this blog is to do the same in the US.
    Good luck with the recipe!

  14. oana UNITED STATES on May 7th, 2007 9:38 pm

    If I were to use canned chickpeas instead of cooking dried ones what quantity should I use?

  15. Jillyanne UNITED STATES on May 11th, 2007 6:21 pm

    A few questions about the recipe

    1) What tempature or level do I cook the chickpeas? Do I boil them rapidly?

    2) Should all of the peels come off when cooking? What happens if they don’t? Is this a sign that the chickpeas haven’t been cooked long enough?

    3) Can I make my own Tahini? What goes into it?

  16. shooky ISRAEL on May 12th, 2007 3:41 pm

    Jillyanne -
    1. “soft” boiling is best.
    2. making your own tahini is not simple, but in the future we’ll supply a relatively easy recipe.

  17. Jillyanne UNITED STATES on May 14th, 2007 9:40 pm

    Thanks. I would appreciate the Tahini recipe.

    What about the peels of the chick peas? Should I look for those all to boil off, or will some remain? Will I need to manually remove them before I put them in the food processor.

  18. shooky ISRAEL on May 14th, 2007 10:05 pm

    Jillyanne -

    This is REALLY a good question.

    Soon, I will write a post with some tips about this. Meanwhile:

    Chickpea peels tend to peal off during cooking, but every variety behaves a little differently. Ideally, the peels will float and you could simply scum them with a spoon.

    A simple way to achieve that is to drain the chickpeas after some 45-60 minutes of cooking, then put them back in clean cold water, boil it, and cook on. Most of the peels should separate from the grains in the process.

    In some cases this not enough, and some manual help is needed. If the peels are stubborn, you can also roll them gently between two clean kitchen towels, before putting it back to the pot.

  19. Hummus with Pretzel Crisps?! | The Hummus Blog UNITED STATES on June 19th, 2007 10:37 pm

    […] this is not a very nutritious choice, nor is it dietary or even that tasty. Not compared to real homemade hummus, or a hummus served at a good hummus place. It’s an OK food I guess. A little better than the […]

  20. The Married Guy Cook » Blog Archive » Hummus Blog on June 22nd, 2007 4:28 pm

    […] in the course of finding the reference recipe there for hummus that I used in my experiment, I neglected to note that the source was in fact a blog; The Hummus […]

  21. LM UNITED STATES on July 15th, 2007 11:44 pm

    Because it takes quite a bit of time to make Hummus, how long can I expect it to last refrigerated? Thank you!

  22. shooky ISRAEL on July 16th, 2007 2:43 am

    LM - It’s best to eat it in the first 1-2 days after you make it. If it becomes too thick, add some water.

  23. Betsy M UNITED STATES on August 6th, 2007 6:44 pm

    I need a good source for dried small chickpeas. I think the organic ones sold at Whole Foods in my area, are the Mexican ones.

    Anyone find one?

  24. Roger H UNITED STATES on August 9th, 2007 11:05 pm

    Has anyone tried cooking the beans in a pressure cooker? I’m just wondering what the approximate cooking time would be.

  25. shooky ISRAEL on August 10th, 2007 2:28 am

    Roger - well, yes, I’ve tried it. I don’t have a pressure cooker today, but I had one in the past. It’s about 30 minutes until the chickpeas are fully cooked. It may take a little longer or shorter, depending on the chickpea variety, size of the cooker etc. Feel free to share with us your findings after you make your own research.

  26. Bruce UNITED STATES on August 30th, 2007 8:34 pm

    I have been trying to duplicate a hummus recipe for 7 years with no success. This recipe is prepared by a Jordanian man, and it is addictive. I have eaten alot of other peoples hummus and all are good, but his hummus I never get tired of. The problem is, that he shut his restraunt down and I can no longer get his hummus. I know this is an impossible question, but where do I begin learning his secret. I believe his hummus is what you hummus bloggers know so well. The taste lies in the consistancey and taste (not too beany, not to much tahini), I am losing this battle.

  27. Chuck UNITED STATES on September 2nd, 2007 8:06 pm

    I too have a lot of canned chickpeas on hand. I’m thinking the conversion from the dried would be 2 or 3 cans. Has anyone tried this?
    Looking back to the Musicalchef’s entry: I use Baking Soda in my tomato sauces to cut down on the acid (meaning heartburn) content. Plus the kids think it’s cool when it foams up. ;O)

  28. Lydia NEW ZEALAND on September 3rd, 2007 6:25 am

    I love making hummus and have experimented quite a bit with it. However, one problem that I always have is that it becomes very sick after about half an hour. I follow approximately the same recipe, as described above. I do use salt during cooking and do not leave chick peas to chill after I have grinded them. I also add water during grinding. How can I make hummus so that the texture stays soft and does not sicken over time?

  29. Keith Levenberg UNITED STATES on September 4th, 2007 12:37 am

    Thanks for this recipe, made it today with Al Wadi tahina with excellent results. To answer Chuck’s question, I made it with canned chick peas that were about two cups each. Since the recipe says to soak 2 cups of dried chick peas til they double in volume (to four cups), I just used two cans so it started out at four cups already soaked and proceeded from there. 45 minutes to an hour in boiling water was enough.

  30. Bruce UNITED STATES on September 4th, 2007 5:14 am

    Does anyone use a foodmill to sieve the chickpeas? I would like to know the name of a good foodmill. Thank you.

  31. Are Falafel and Tahini nutritious too? : The Hummus Blog UNITED STATES on September 11th, 2007 8:30 pm

    […] In a recent posts I already explained how nutritious Hummus is (I’m talking about REAL hummus of course, freshly made from dried chickpeas. Here’s the recipe). […]

  32. Jennifer UNITED STATES on September 14th, 2007 7:54 am

    This looks great! i have my dried chickpeas ready to sor thru! funny story tho - that I thought would have the hummus lovers laughing…..I recently made the mistake of buying hummus from the store - I hadn’t made it - but my sister does and it’s great and what can I say - I has a hankering…..the store bought stuff was just TERRIBLE!!!! I couldn’t even eat it - it was just icky and not nice. I told this to my sister - who was kind enough to bring me some that she made. When I was serving it up on a tray with pita wedges and carrots - my nephew (who is 4) innocently asked me “auntie jennifer - why would you buy icky hummus from the store?” I just started to giggle - I didn’t have a good answer and what can you say to that….outta the mouths of babes….. well i’m off to use this recipe to start making my own! hurray!

  33. shooky ISRAEL on September 15th, 2007 8:56 pm

    Jennifer - good luck with the hummus! Tell us how it came out.

  34. shooky ISRAEL on September 15th, 2007 9:08 pm

    Keith - canned chickpeas are hardly as tasty and healthy as dried ones. I dedicated a post to that. True it’s easier to make hummus with them, but than again - it’s also easier to buy packaged hummus.

  35. shooky ISRAEL on September 15th, 2007 9:17 pm

    Lydia - both tahini and hummus can absorb a lot of water, during the preparation but also after. You should always make the hummus a bit thiner than you want it to be - or eat it right away. If it gets too thick after some time in the fridge simply add a little warm water and mix it.

  36. foody ISRAEL on September 23rd, 2007 9:40 am

    A question.
    Does anybody know how to make musabacha (humus with some cooked beans intact)
    Try when you have made the humus not only a topping of olive oil but a mix of chopped green chillis a little garlic all in the juice of a lemon.Be advised pour this on sparingly. Serve with a quartered hard boiled egg in the middle and scoop up with pitta and quartered onion.
    Aside from cummin what are the herbs on the top. Shooky may know, at places like abu hassan and roni ful

  37. shooky ISRAEL on September 23rd, 2007 1:29 pm

    Foody -
    there’s a complete recipe in the Hebrew version of this blog, and if there’s a demand I’ll post it here too.

    But it’s actually pretty simple and much the same as making hummus, with minor exceptions: the chickpeas should be cooked until VERY soft, and you don’t use a food processor.

    There are different variations - some include tahini, cooked chickpeas AND hummus, and some without the hummus. The spicing should include lemon juice, salt, garlic, paprika and lots of parsley. Cumin is good but not vital. You can also make a hot pepper sauce like in Abu Hassan with the liquids from a conserved hot-pepper jar, with some lemon and garlic.

  38. Bruce UNITED STATES on September 28th, 2007 5:58 am

    Shooky-

    Please post the Hebrew version. I’ve been wondering about the sharpness of the blade on the food processor. It seems to either liquify or shread the grains, instead of making creamy. Thank you.

  39. Shooky ISRAEL on September 29th, 2007 6:45 pm

    Bruce,
    This is what you need to know:

    A. If the falafel “melts” in the pan, It usually means too much moisture or over-grinding in the food precessor. Ask yourself: did you put the mixture in the fridge and let it thicken? Did you sqeezed the bread really good? Or have you accidentally added some of the soaking water into the mixture? Also, did you use white bread crumbles? Other breads aren’t good for this.
    Solution: add a little dry bread crumbles.

    B.”Disintegration” of the falafel in the pan ussualy means that the mixture is too thick - not enough moisture or or a too grainy mixtrure, which may be a result of a bad food processor blade, or a soaking proccess which was too short.
    Solution: add very little water and knead a little, or add soked and squeezed white bread to the mixture.

    Remember: you should be able to make fine looking burgers, which remain stable in shape when you play them in your hand.

  40. 2007 October 03 : The Hummus Blog UNITED STATES on October 4th, 2007 1:57 am

    […] TahiniAMANDA on What is Tahinimusicalchef on Voting for Hummus [updated]: so I’m Anti-BushShooky on Real Hummus recipeBruce on Real Hummus […]

  41. 2007 October 06 : The Hummus Blog UNITED STATES on October 6th, 2007 8:23 pm

    […] is it Israeli or Arab?nadia on Hummus: is it Israeli or Arab?2007 October 03 : The Hummus Blog on Real Hummus recipeshooky on What is TahiniAMANDA on What is […]

  42. Sarah UNITED STATES on November 1st, 2007 4:13 am

    First of all: I love this website. I stumbled across it while looking at hummus photos on Flickr (yes, I have a hummus problem.)
    Anyway, I just wanted to share a tip related to storing hummus once you’ve made it (if someone else has already shared this, I apologize):
    I usually boil more chickpeas than I need for one batch of hummus, use the ones I need, then freeze the rest of the boiled (but still plain) chickpeas. When I take them out of the freezer I just throw them in boiling water for a minute or two then they are ready for hummus-making.
    A word of warning, this way the chickpeas will be a bit more watery than when they are freshly boiled, so add less water to the hummus/tehina mixture than you normally would. voila! instant “real” hummus.

  43. Jordan UNITED KINGDOM on December 10th, 2007 7:20 pm

    Completed this recipe today - amazing! There are soo many bad ones online.

    I found that making a good, flavoursome tachina first then adding the chick pea mush bit by bit works well. Just have to top-up the lemon and salt along the way. Yarden make a good raw tahini available in most Tescos in the UK (in the world foods section).

    Not quite Israeli standard yet, but working hard towards it.

  44. Dana Chazanov ISRAEL on January 9th, 2008 3:34 am

    Have eaten excellent hummus ful at AbuDabi on King George in Tel Aviv and also at Hummus Givataim at a mall (believe it or not).
    They were both delcious, warming, in a meat stew kind of way, and so nutritious.
    I see wonderful suggestions for hummus, but please fill me in on what the ful bean is and what the American name for the ful bean might be. How do you cook it and how along with the hummus? Do they both cook at about the same rate (different pots of course) and what are the other seasonings and herbs that are added? Also, how are the eggs cooked so they have the lovely brownish color.
    Anxiously awaiting a recipe so I can make it at home.
    Thanks!

  45. shooky ISRAEL on January 9th, 2008 11:24 am

    Dear Sana,

    Ful is the Hebrew/Arab name for Fava Beans and Broad Beans. You should use the Fava (”Egyptian Ful”).

    In a later post I’ll give an exact recipe, but it’s basically very simple: soak it over night, than cook like the chickpeas. When the ful is completely soft (2-2.5 hours) add some salt, cumin and mashed garlic. Earlier during cooking, some people add chopped tomatoes.

    Traditionally, ful was cooked over a paraffin stove for many hours. So, try to make the cooking process longer (over small fire) if you want the flavor and

    About the brown eggs (”Huevos Haminados”): make regular hard-boiled eggs, than leave it over night in a warm oven (80-100 celsius). Very simple.

    GOOD LUCK!

  46. elisabeth AUSTRIA on January 10th, 2008 7:34 pm

    congratulations to this blog..
    i have just found it a few hours ago while searching for a really good hummus recipe and here we are! i have always loved hummus, but never as much as i do now, after i have eaten it in israel last december… and because its taste is incomparable to the packaged hummus from any supermarket here, i decided to do it myself.
    ..and until my chickpeas are ready to cook, i read further trough this amazing weblog! thank you for all your infos and recipes!!

  47. The Hummus Blog » 2008 » January » 14 UNITED STATES on January 14th, 2008 1:15 pm

    […] Best Hummus Recipe […]

  48. adam on January 17th, 2008 3:39 am

    How much salt should be used in the recipe?

  49. shooky ISRAEL on January 17th, 2008 10:00 am

    Adam - I can’t really tell because I go by the taste. It should be something around half a teaspoon, but it is best simply to add and taste.

  50. shooky ISRAEL on January 17th, 2008 10:01 am

    elisabeth - thanks for your kind words. Hope to see you here a lot friend!

  51. Dana Chazanov on January 18th, 2008 4:22 am

    Hi Shooky - Thanks to your response about the hummus ful. I am back home now but before I left Israel I went to the shuk and bought some Egyptian brown ful to bring home. Now I will await your post to give me a recipe so I can try it at home.
    My mouth is watering just thinking how delicious it was and hopefully will be when I make it at home.
    Thanks, Dana

  52. shooky ISRAEL on January 19th, 2008 11:38 am

    Dana - soon…

  53. Rhodri Williams on January 25th, 2008 1:24 pm

    Nice recipe! Two questions:

    1. Does hummus freeze well? Reviewing the ingredients, I don’t see anything that wouldn’t work, but I haven’t really tried to freeze down legumes before on anything like such a scale.

    2. What about heat? Some recipes call for a little bit of e.g. cayenne pepper. Are traditional sensibilities disturbed by hummus with a sting in its tail?

  54. shooky ISRAEL on January 25th, 2008 6:50 pm

    Rhodri -
    1. You can’t freeze hummus because it’s texture will change. You CAN freeze the cooked chickpeas though. When you want to make the hummus just put them into a microwave and continue with the recipe.

    2. The traditional hot sauce is called Tabilla: grind some hot green pepper with lemon juice and garlic. Add it on the hummus only when serving. You can also try the Yemenite equivalent, Zchuk, which is also very popular in both Israel and Palestinian hummus places: grind some green hot peppers with coriander, salt and garlic, into a thick paste. You can also use red hot peppers and skip the coriander, in order to get Red Zchuk but don’t mix any of these into the hummus itself.

  55. Xenobia GERMANY on January 27th, 2008 2:00 pm

    Shooky, what if you don’t have a food processor? Every single recipe I’ve found for hummus, online or elsewhere, says to throw the cooked chickpeas into a food processor. But… I don’t have one.

    I’m willing to get one, if that’s what it takes to make good hummus. But in the meantime, any suggestions? I mean, how was hummus made before food processors?

  56. jane clout SPAIN on January 28th, 2008 9:59 pm

    I don’t have a processor as such either, just a wand type blender, that you can use in whatever pot you like. By the way, it;s great for smooth soups too.

    In times gone by, people used big very strong bowls (the mortor) and a large bashing device (the pestle). On a much larger scale as the thing we use for crushing spices or pharmaceuticals, but the same idea.

    I made another batch of hummus again today, using my frozen home cooked chick peas. When I’ve finished cooking the chick peas, I drain them, and let them steam dry as I pour them between the strainer and the pan. Left spread out on a clean towel, they are soon dry and cold enough to bag up and freeze, to use free flow as many as you need.

    Here’s my current hummus recipe:
    In a 1/2 litre (one pint) measuring jug, I put 75 ml (3 fluid ounces) each of good Tahini and lemon juice, 50 ml (2 fluid ouncesolive oil, two peeled fat cloves of garlic and 1/2 a teaspoon of salt. I then packed in frozen chick peas to the 400ml (14 fluid ounces) line.

    I just covered the chick peas with boiling water, then shoved the hand blender in to bury it’s business end before switching it on. If you don’t do this, it can get messy! Really work it until smooth, though you will still see tiny grainsThe Hummus worked really well, and I made it in the time it took to make some tea and toast. But I have to admit my cooker is a bit of a wimp.

    I wonder what you guys think of my unconventional methods?

  57. Taffie UNITED STATES on January 30th, 2008 1:13 am

    I make hummus very much like Shooky’s. I get the chickpeas from a local organic farm, soak them, change the water, etc. but have experimented so no longer add water to thin the hummus while it’s in the blender, but add more lemon juice instead. Also grate some of the lemon peel to add. What is the baking soda for? I don’t add salt and have found I don’t like to eat it with olive oil. In summer I get parsley out of the garden, but leave it off in winter. Just garlic in the blender, as well as ground cominos (cumin). I like it with warm pita and with turnip sticks, radishes, tomatoes, and green peppers to dip in the hummus. Yum!

  58. Bruce UNITED STATES on February 5th, 2008 9:00 pm

    I still cannot get my hummus the way I like it. Please help my technique. I follow the recipe exactly. I use a food processor (not blender-used for cocktails). The hummus is either too thick and grainy or too thin. And if I do get the texture right, it lacks that special taste, that we all desire in our hummus. I’ve tried refrigerating the cooked chickpeas before processing them, and can’t tell that it made a difference. Could I be using the wrong type of blade with the food processor? My blade type has two knives, one above the other, and both serrated (very sharp). I also remove the skins, this does help the texture, but the taste is not right. You must be rolling your eyes at the ramble, I apologize, I’m just desperate. I was first introduced to hummus by a Jordanian restaurateur, and the recipe he gave me was pretty much exactly like the one on Hummus101. What is missing? I feel like there is some secret, is there a way to master this?

  59. concordal CANADA on February 20th, 2008 7:48 pm

    Many thanks for posting the details of how to make true Hummus!

    I made the Hummus, as you suggest, from dried chickpeas (not canned). Unfortunately I could only find the larger chickpeas, even in the Asian markets. So it will come as no surprise that the result tasted no different and no better than canned chickpeas.

    Would you be willing to post a picture of a chickpea grain, perhaps beside a pencil for scale. I’d be happy to e-mail a similar shot of the larger dried chickpea with a pencil if that would be helpful.

  60. Sue on February 27th, 2008 5:55 am

    Tried Hummus recipe needed extra lemon juice otherwise great recipe.
    Enjoying reading your blog getting tons of ideas, will be interested in a picture as requested by concordal as I could only get the Mexican chickpeas, but I still liked the taste, Can’t wait to try the chickpea grains. Could you also give a site where we could buy some if they aren’t available in this area?

  61. Judy on February 29th, 2008 11:55 pm

    Thanks for your recent comment on my blog. I had to do an internet search to find you since you didn’t leave me your website. Now I know where to come when I have hummus questions. Thanks, and please visit me once in a while, too.

  62. shooky ISRAEL on March 1st, 2008 1:42 pm

    concordal,
    I’ll post such a photo soon, but meanwhile: small chickpea grains should be around 0.5-0.7cm in diameter (0.2-0.25 inch).

  63. shooky ISRAEL on March 1st, 2008 1:48 pm

    Bruce - I think you should try using experimenting with different kinds of chickpeas and tahini. Check my answer to sue.

    Sue - our shop (look on the left sidebar) has some products that might be suitable. I did some investigation and tried to choose the best products that Amazon offers. Note that it is an affiliate shop and we are getting a small commission, but the prices are the same and you buy through Amazon so it’s perfectly safe.

  64. Hummus-Ful: Recipe and Photos » The Hummus Blog on March 1st, 2008 11:03 pm

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  65. Dror Musa CAMBODIA on March 3rd, 2008 9:00 am

    I’ve been making hummus for 8 years here in cambodia …
    Started from scratch , there was only 1 Indian shop selling chic peas
    Tahina was extremely hard to get and was usually of the Macedonian/Greek
    kind - a lump of stone with the oil floating on top and very expensive (9$ for 300 gram !)
    and it was a long frustrating process just to find the supplies and then to learn
    what to do with them .

    Yesterday a friend called me over , got some canned garbanzo’s (dry chick peas are very low quality here and usually full of worms+the heat makes them go sour while soaking) , washed them thouroughly several times , peeled all the peels , cooked them in fresh water for an other 20 minutes and then followed the traditional recipe .

    Had the hummus ready in 35 minutes , had it with grilled chicken skewers and
    Israeli salad + naan bread . HEAVEN :)

    I can recommend a Lebanese Tahini I can sometimes find here it’s called
    “Spring ” Al Rabih and has two kissing doves on it .
    http://www.alrabih.com.lb/

    “Ha Yona”/ Karawan is still the best but Lebanese Tahini isn’t far behind

  66. Jen@BigBinder UNITED STATES on March 4th, 2008 2:33 am

    I would like to try making humus; I have some Ziyad tahini and a bag of yellow chick peas (also Ziyad) from a Middle Eastern store a few blocks from my house. How do I know if these are the right kind of chick peas? Would it say anywhere on the bag? Thank you!

  67. Nica GERMANY on March 4th, 2008 8:07 pm

    I’ve got a question:
    I know that Hummus tastes best when it is fresh, but is there a possibility to make Hummus and then conserve it somehow? Like cooking in a pressure cooker or somehting?
    Did anyone of you tried this out already? I would be happy to get information of this because I cannot always make fresh Hummus… =(
    Thanks a lot!!
    Cheers, Nica

  68. shooky ISRAEL on March 6th, 2008 2:31 am

    Dear Nica,
    You can soak a large amount of chickpeas and freeze some. You can also cook them, freeze and microwave just before preparation.
    In order to keep hummus longer than a few hours, you can leave the lemon juice out and add it just before you serve the hummus. In which case the hummus can survive for 2-3 days in the fridge. When there’s no other way, use citric salt instead of lemon juice. The lemon juice accelerates the oxidization.
    But yes, it’s best to make it and eat it right away.

  69. shooky ISRAEL on March 6th, 2008 2:33 am

    Dear Jen -
    It’s not likely that you’d find anything useful on the bag.
    Chickpeas are best for hummus when it’s very small and hast a light color. I’ll soon publish some useful images here.

  70. Calvin UNITED STATES on April 15th, 2008 2:36 am

    Was wondering how long can we store HUMMUS? I am a student and studies and part time job does not permit me to cook hummus on a daily basis.

    I would like to make a huge quantity of hummus and want to use it for a decent time, like 1-2 weeks.

    Please advise.

    -Calvin P

  71. another world ROMANIA on April 16th, 2008 6:30 pm

    This is the best recipe I’ve tried. Even a friend of mine told me that is the right one. She’s Palestinian and she knows better than me. I’ve just finished cooking and the taste is… woow. Well, the most important part of the recipe are the chickpeas and also tahini. I used small grains by fortune, because I didn’t know at first. Lucky me! Thanks for sharing the recipe!

  72. Ailis IRELAND on April 18th, 2008 10:53 pm

    I made it! Way too much of it actually! I panicked when the chickpea paste was very thick and overcompensated by adding just a teenchy bit too much water. Still very tasty for a first try. I have frozen some boiled chickpeas for my next endeavor, but have a few questions in the meantime:

    1) I used a Greek tahini called “Sunita Light Tahini” - which is made from the hulled sesame seed. Does hulled v. unhulled effect the outcome?

    2) Next time round, I won’t have the cooking water left over to add to the mixture since I’ll be boiling the chickpeas for a minute or two only. Any idea how plain old tap water effects the outcome?

    3) What would be the ratio of *already boiled* chickpeas to the rest of the ingredients?

    THANKS VERY MUCH!

  73. shooky ISRAEL on April 18th, 2008 11:29 pm

    Hi Ailis,
    Way to go!
    Here are the answers to your questions:
    1) Unhulled (or technically - partially hulled) sesame makes a darker tahini with a more rich taste, and some people claim it’s super-healthy, but it’s not very good for hummus.
    2) Without the cooking water your hummus will be lighter and more delicate, and some people even prefer it this way. Some famous hummus places deliberately use tap water instead of the cooking water.
    3) Boiled chickpeas inflate up to 3 times of the original volume, but it depends much on the cooking and the variety of the chickpeas you use. The best way to go is to mix all the ingredients separately and add slowly into the food processor. If you got some of the mixture left you actually have a spicy tahini sauce you can eat separately or with other dishes.

  74. shooky ISRAEL on April 18th, 2008 11:47 pm

    Calvin - you can cook and freeze a large amount of chickpeas, so the preparation will be quicker. They can be fairly conserved in the freezer for a few weeks. DON’T try to keep hummus in the fridge for more than 1-2 days. It’ll taste bad and become unhealthy.

    another world - Mazeltov!

  75. Alan K IRELAND on May 11th, 2008 9:33 pm

    Just found this site. Love it. Lived in the Middle East for ten years and now make my own Hoummus. All the family likes it. It’s cheap, filling and nutritious.

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