Hummus & Pita Chips

As I mentioned in this post,even I would post only snacks/chaats and appetizers through out my 'Family Food' series other than few exceptions.Here is my first snack for the series,I promise you that I would post few interesting recipes which are quite unique and uncommon.Watch out my next monday recipe which is a quite unique chaat.

Most of my evening tea parties consist of chips and dips, as I feel they are not only easy to make but also easy to serve and gives us time to chit chat more as we munch on them.All the dips can be made in advance and refrigerated until required. If we rest it for more time, the flavors infuse better in them. Even pita chips can be made in advance and stored in air-tight container.
Hummus is a middle eastern dip which is made up of ground chickpeas blended with mild spices to get a smooth,creamy textured dip which is ideal to be served with chips or as a spread for bread toast.
Pita Chips Recipe:
(Serves 2-3)

Ingredients:
3-4 Pita breads
1 tsp mixed Italian herbs
1 tsp Red chili flakes
2-3 tsp Olive oil
Salt to taste

Method:

• Cut pita bread into 6-8 triangles using a pizza cutter or scissors.
• Whisk olive oil with herbs,salt and red chili flakes.
• Arrange the pita bread triangles on a single layer on the baking sheet and brush them with olive oil mixture.
• Preheat the oven to 160 degrees for 7-8 mins and bake the pita bread for 5-7 mins until they turn red in the edges and crisp.Initially they would be soft when touched immediately it turns crispy after it cools down.Keep an eye on them and take care not to burn them.

Serve them with hummus.

Variations:

1. You can use wheat pita for healthier option.
2. You can sprinkle spices like roasted jeera powder or red chili powder or pepper powder or zatar or sumac on pita chips for different flavors.

Hummus Recipe:
(Serves 2-3)

Ingredients:
1 cup Chickpeas,soaked for 12-14 hrs
2 1/2 tbsp Tahini paste(see notes for alternative)
juice of 1 Lemon
2-3 Garlic pods,crushed
4 tbsp Olive oil
1/2 tsp Red chili powder,to sprinkle
Salt to taste
Method:

• Pressure cook chickpeas with salt for 1 whistles and reduce the flame and cook for 20-25 mins until soft.
• Cool and drain the water from chickpeas and keep it aside.Reserve 8-10 chickpeas for garnishing and use the remaining ones.
• Grind chickpeas with garlic pods,lemon juice,olive oil,tahini paste and salt to a fine and smooth paste.
• Add reserved chickpeas water if necessary while grinding to get the smooth paste but use less water as the lemon juice and oil itself helps in easy grinding.
• Remove the hummus into a serving bowl and spread using a spatula up to the corners as shown in the photos and pour olive oil in the insertion and sprinkle red chili powder all over and garnish with cooked chickpeas in the center.

Serve it with pita chips/tortilla chips/nachos/vegetable sticks.

Notes:

• If you do not have tahini paste,slightly warm 2 tbsp white sesame seeds and powder it and add olive oil while grinding.Your instant tahini paste is ready.
• You can even make hummus to a coarse paste,it is your personal preference to make how you want,I like it smooth.

Variations:

1. You can sprinkle zatar/sumac instead of red chili powder which gives a different flavor to hummus.
2. You can make various flavored hummus like roasted red pepper hummus,olive flavored hummus,coriander flavored hummus and mint flavored hummus.
3. For roasted red pepper hummus,grill the red pepper until charred and remove the skin and seeds and grind the flesh along with hummus until you get a smooth paste.
4. For olive flavored hummus,grind 5-6 olives along with hummus to a smooth paste.You can use any variety of olives here.
5. For coriander flavored hummus, grind 1/3 cup chopped coriander along with hummus to a fine paste.
6. For mint flavored hummus,grind 1/4 cup mint along with hummus to a fine paste.