Hummus: is it Israeli or Arab?
Most Israelis, and many people around the world, believe hummus to be an Israeli dish. On the other hand, when they want to eat good hummus, most Israelis will go to an Arab hummus place. So how invented it? Who does hummus belong to?
If you’d tell a Syrian, a Palestinian or an Israeli Arab, that hummus is an Israeli dish, they will probably laugh at your face. Hummus is eaten all over the middle-east, and is a part of the traditional Arab kitchen. There’s no way it was brought here by European Jews…
This does sound reasonable, although chickpeas are known to man for at least 9000 years. The Greeks loved it and the Romans made various dishes with it. Technically, the first documented use of chickpeas to make hummus is from the time of the crusaders, and it took place in ancient Israel.
True, the use of chickpeas to make a traditional dish called “Hamitz” was mentioned in the Talmud, some 700 years earlier. Read more
The primitive American hummus culture
Though relatively young and poor in content compared with it’s older Hebrew brother, The Hummus Blog is getting lots of attention these days. Over the comments at one of the sites who talked about us, someone said something like “Americans don’t know shit about hummus”.
Hummus nutritional value: dried vs. canned chickpeas
Canned and preserved foods are not as healthy. Specifically, when using canned chickpeas instead of dried ones to make hummus, you loose half the nutrients.
Most of the recipes for homemade hummus found on the web, are based on canned chickpeas (a.k.a garbanzo beens). To those of you who are acquainted with the original flavor of hummus (not the industrial type, that is), this probably sound like a but idea. True, the use of canned peas demands less effort, but it doesn’t taste that good.
For those of you who see think canned chickpeas are a reasonable substitute, I collected some data about the nutritional differences between cooked dried chickpeas and canned ones.
Read more
Hummus: nutritional facts
Hummus is a nutritional treasure. It’s not only delicious to eat, but also contain lots of vitamins, minerals, amino acids.
Also read: Hummus - is it good for you?
It’s hard to be decisive when talking about hummus in general. There are different kinds of hummus, in which the exact quantities of each ingredient vary. So it’s a little hard to be precise, but I can tell you: hummus is certainly good for you!
By the way: we are talking solely about homemade - or at list handmade - hummus (recipe). Industrial packaged hummus is not that healthy.
So what does hummus contain?
Arbis: the ultimate chickpea snack
Arbes is so simple to make, and so tasty, that after you know the recipe you might find yourself eating it all the time. It also has an interesting story.
Arbes (or “arbis”) is a traditional dish, originally eaten by jews on the “Shalom Zachar” feast (usually pronounced “Shulem Zucher”). When a child is born, the family hosts a ceremonial meal, where it is customary to serve the arbes.
Arbes is basically a snack - cooked chick peas with salt and pepper. Very simple, very easy to make, and unbelievably tasty.
Ironically, “Arbes” is actually the Yiddish word for “peas”, not chickpeas. And besides the “Ashkenazic” Jews (European) who gave it the Yiddish name, it is also eaten by Sephardic Jews (from North Africa and Arab countries) such as Iraqi Jews who call it “Lablabi” and add cumin to it.
This is how you make it (about 5-10 servings):
1. Soak 2 cups of chickpeas over a night.
2. Drain and wash carefully, then cook for about an half an hour.
3. Add some baking soda and cook for another 1/2-1 hour, until soft (the chick peas should be soft enough for you to squash between two fingers, but not too soft).
4. Add lots of salt and freshly grained pepper.
5. Eat.
An easy Falafel recipe
It’s very easy to make falafel. You should try that.
Falafel - as oppose to hummus - is very easy to make, and with a little effort is needed so it would come out great. In case you don’t know what it is - falafel is the second most popular chick pea (garbanzo been) dish. A small, crunchy, chick pea burger which tastes delicious.
This recipe that I’m going to share with you, is for Arabic falafel, which is very different from the Turkish falafel that you can find in some European cities (I ate some in Berlin). I think it’s much better.
The Turkish falafel is served in a toasted bread, with some salads and spicy sauces. In Israel, as well as most of the Arab countries, we eat the falafel inside a pita bread, with vegetable salad, pickles, French fries and Tahini. You should try that.
The Ingredients:
(25 falafel balls)
2 cups of dries chickpeas, soaked in water for 12 hours
Crumbs from 2 slices of white bread
5 cloves of garlic
2 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup chopped parsley
1/2 cup chopped coriander
1/2 small onion
1 spoon of sesame seeds
1 teaspoon cumin spice
1 teaspoon paprika
Salt, pepper
Oil for deep frying
Preparation:
1. Wash the soaked chickpeas and put them in a food processor with the garlic, onion and spices. Grind until you get a rough moist texture. Add a little water if needed.
2. Move the mixture into a large bowl, add the rest of the ingredients and put aside, covered, for 30-60 minutes.
3. Warm the oil - it should be hot, not boiling. Add the baking soda to the mixture and knead a little.
4. Wet your hands and shape little balls (smaller then apricots). Fry until you get a deep brown shade. Serve hot!
Want more recipes? try out:
And when you are done cocking, you can always try “The Falafel king Game“…
The A-Z of Hummus in Israel
Ask any Israeli to point out one thing that embodies “Israeliness.” Chances are that nine out ten will say “hummus.” What is it about that pale chickpea paste that is eaten everywhere, anytime, that evokes passionate discussions, fan-clubs and embodies Israel? Ynet presents the (almost) complete guide to hummus
Hummus is the common denominator for all Israelis. Ask an expatriate what he misses most, watch two Israelis argue for hours about where the best hummus is served, or try driving through the hummus-eateries filled streets of Jaffa on a Saturday and you’ll understand: Israelis simply love their hummus. That is understandable considering the fact that an average Israeli consumes about 10 kg (about 22 lbs.) of hummus a year.
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