What are hummus?

Question

I watched Food Network today and they used hummus. I have heard of it before but have never tried it and I don't know what exactly it is. This is such a dumb question but can anybody answer? Thanks for reading about my stupidity

Answer 1

hummus is a blend of:
chick peas
tahini (sesame paste)
garlic
cumin
lemon juice

Good with falafels, on vegetables, on crackers. It's a spread or dip.

Answer 2

Hummus or more precisely hummus bi tahini (Arabic: حُمُّص‎; Armenian Õ°Õ¡Õ´Õ¸Õ½ hamos; also spelled houmous, hommus, hummous or humus) is a dip made of ground chickpeas, tahini (sesame seed paste), lemon juice, and garlic, and often olive oil and paprika.

In Arabic the word hummus is used to describe the dish or just chickpeas on their own. The full name of the dish is Arabic: حُمُّص بطحينة‎ hummus bi tahina 'chickpeas with tahini'.

Hummus is popular in various local forms throughout the Middle Eastern world. While it is served in Greek restaurants in some parts of the world, hummus is a Levantine Arab dish.

Hummus is often garnished with parsley, paprika, pine nuts, tomatoes, cucumber, thinly-sliced onions, mushrooms, or more chickpeas, and then drizzled with olive oil before serving. Hummus is traditionally scooped up with flatbread (such as pita), but is increasingly popular as a dip for tortilla chips in non-Middle Eastern countries. Popular variations of Hummus include: hummus ful (pronounced /fuːl/), which is hummus topped with a paste made from fava beans boiled until soft and then crushed into a mush; hummus masubha/mashawsha, a mixture of hummus paste, warm chickpeas and tahina; and hummus mahluta, which is hummus paste covered with a combination of ful paste and warm chick peas. Hummus is also used as an appetizer dish to accompany main courses, as part of a meze, and as a dressing for falafel, Israeli salad, grilled chicken, and eggplant. The dish is very popular throughout the Middle East among all population groups.

Hummus is relatively cheap to make with either dried or canned chickpeas. The cooked or canned chickpeas are ground using a mortar and pestle, potato masher, or food processor, with olive oil, lemon juice, and tahini. Blenders are sometimes used, though they cannot produce the traditional thick consistency; hand blenders are better. A bit of the water in which the chickpeas were boiled may be added to reach the desired consistency. Garlic, salt, parsley, onions, cumin, and/or chili powder may be added. For a softer texture, the skins can be removed from the chickpeas by using a strainer. Ideally, hummus should not be refrigerated and should be eaten within an hour or two of making.

Hummus is a nutritious food, containing a large amount of protein, dietary fiber, iron, and (depending on the recipe) varying amounts of monounsaturated fat; it is suitable for vegetarians and vegans.

Answer 3

delish is what it is! That is not a stupid question at all! Hummus is cheap, healthy, and easy to make. Start with a reg. size can of chick peas. Drain them. Add in 2 cloves of garlic, a drizzle of olive oil and some sesame paste (in a jam peanut butter is good too instead of tahini but, make sure there are no allergies if you serve or share it!) You want to grind it all up. A hand blender works best if you have one. You can do it in a reg. blender but the process is slow. You can play with it. Add herbs whatever. Really good on raw veg. ,crackers, pita ect. Hope you like it!

Answer 4

Personally I've found that the best hummus is the stuff available from a Middle Eastern mom 'n' pop store, or home-made. The stuff in the supermarket deli just doesn't taste the same.

Answer 5

It's pretty good stuff. It's chick peas cooked and blended to a paste like substance with other ingredients to add flavor.

Answer 6

It is a mix of chick peas, tahini (sesame) paste, olive oil and garlic.

It is great with pita bread.

Answer 7

smushed up chickpeas with olive oil spices and herbs and such

Answer 8

blended chick peas with spices very tasty and cheap