Hummus (Vegan/Vegetarian)

This is yet another recipe from Kurma Dasa's cookbook...Hey, that cookbook has recipes that are exactly of my kind of vegetarian diet. I thought it turned out pretty good when I tried cooking it the other day. Some optional ingredients are olives, sun-dreid tomatos, etc. You might also find tahini (sesame sauce) under the name "tahina". I found it in a Iranian market.

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CHICKPEA COOKING TIME: 1 to 2 hours
PREPARATION TIME: 10 minutes
YIELD: enough for 6 persons

1 1/2 cups (375 ml) chickpeas, soaked overnight in cold water
juice of 2 large lemons
1 1/2 teaspoons (7 ml) salt
1/2 teaspoon (2 ml) yellow asafoetida powder
2/3 cup (165 ml) tahini
2 tablespoons (40 ml) olive oil for garnish
1/4 teaspoon (1 ml) paprika for garnish
1 teaspoon (5 ml) chopped fresh parseley for garnish

1. Drain the soaked chickpeas and place them in a saucepan with lots of water. Boil for 1 to 2 hours or until the chickpease are soft.
2. Drain the cooked chickpeas, reserving the water. Place the cooked and drained chickpeas, the lemon juice, salt, asafoetida, and tahini in a food processor or blender. Process until smooth, adding a little reserved cooking water if required to reach a puree consistency.
3. Transfer into a serving bowl and garnish with oilve oil, paprika, and parsley. Serve at room temperature.

(Source: Great Vegetarian Dishes: Over 240 recipes from around the world by Kurma dasa. See more on http://www.kurma.net/)

(Keywords: vegan, vegetarian, dip, Middle Eastern)