Chickpeas

Contains many nutrients that are of a great benefit to the human body, such as proteins and mineral salts. Vegetarians may tend to eat more chickpeas and other legumes as an alternative to white or red meat. Chickpeas are added to many rice based Palestinian dishes such as “Qidreh”, or with soups or salads. Or, it can be eaten in its crushed form with olive oil and other flavorings. In this article, we will discuss how to prepare ground chickpeas, the Palestinian way.

Preparation of Palestinian Chickpeas

Ingredients

1. One cup of dry love chickpeas.
2. Some lemon juice, varies according to your taste.
3. Tahini: three tablespoons.
4. A Pinch of table salt to taste.
5. A quarter of a teaspoon of baking soda, or you can use baking powder.
6. Two crushed cloves of garlic.
7. A half a large sweet green pepper.
8. A quarter of a teaspoon of lemon salt.
9. A quarter of a cup of water.

Preparation method

1. Wash dry chickpeas well with lukewarm water to make sure it is completely cleaned of dust or dirt that may be on it.
2. Soak the chickpeas in a suitable size bowl overnight.
3. Drain the chickpeas from the soaking water, and transfer to a saucepan.
4. Soak the chickpeas again in water, adding one teaspoon of table salt.
5. Cook on medium heat for at least two hours, or until they are fully cooked.
6. Make sure the chickpeas remain submerged in water so that the chickpeas do not burn and stick to the bottom of the pot.
7. Leave the chickpeas after ripening to cool down until they reach room temperature. Do not throw away the boiling water.
8. Place the green sweet pepper, the two mashed garlic cloves, lemon salt, table salt and the cup of water in the blender.
9. Blend the ingredients very well to get the chickpea seasoning. Set aside.
10. Set aside 3 table spoons of the cooked chickpeas, to be added in the end on top of the plate for decoration.
11. Place the  rest of the cooked chickpeas in the blender. Blend well using some of the boiling water gradually to ensure the proper pasty consistency of hummus.
12. Add lemon juice, in addition to salt and tahini, and continue to beat the chickpeas, in order to obtain a soft and tender mixture.
13. Pour the prepared chickpeas into a serving dish.
14. Decorate the dish with the whole chickpeas.
15. Add the seasoning.
16. Sprinkle a small amount of sumac spice, olive oil, and eat with bread.

And, enjoy in good health.