Kala Chana Hummus

I’m back. Where have I been? No, not in London and I didn’t visit the Queen. Unfortunately, we had a death in our family and before I knew it, two weeks had passed. I’ve now broken the surface for air and trying to get back into the swing of cooking.

So catch me up quickly on what I’ve missed. How was Halloween? Is Pumpkin spice still everywhere? Has anyone tasted the new Starbucks Chestnut Praline Holiday coffee? I am so frickin’ excited that there’s finally a new flavor. Has anyone seen Home Alone as yet? Or heard Christmas Carols?

Today I’m bringing you a new favourite recipe of mine. A while ago, I posted a recipe that included Kala Chana. Kala Chana is from the same family as the chana / chickpeas you know and love, but is cultivated mostly in India. When the supermarket started bringing it in, my mom started using it exclusively. It was delicious and wonderful…until she stopped one day without notice. I don’t know why she stopped cooking it but one day I opened the pot and plain old chana masala was staring back at me. Andddd now you know where my food abandonment issues come from. Thanks mom!

I was cooking some kala chana the other day and admiring how sleek and pretty it looked (YES, a legume can be pretty) when I was struck with a classic Indi flash of genius. “Why not use kala chana for hummus!” I know. It’s a gift.

I’ve recently come to LOVE hummus and for a few solid months, I’d make some every single week and put it on everything – toast, crackers, wraps, and I’d dip all sorts of ‘vehicles’ into the hummus – veggies, pretzels, and more importantly, my finger. Multiple times. I have severely depleted my tahini stash but it’s totally worth it. Hummus is the most all-purpose and wholly filling snack / breakfast/ lunch/ dinner combo ever.

So although I used the standard hummus recipe etched into my brain at first, I found that this recipe needed some additional modification. Because the kala chana doesn’t swell up as much and soften the way regular chana does, it doesn’t become very creamy on it’s own when blended. Don’t worry, I fixed all those issues, and I cannot stress how important it is to use fresh lemon juice. It is infinitely better than the bottled one.

So here’s my very own Kala Channa Hummus Recipe. Enjoy!

• Servings: depends on how you use it
• Time: 10 minutes
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

Ingredients

2 cups cooked Kala Chana
½ cup Tahini
¼ cup freshly squeezed Lemon Juice
2 cloves Garlic, roughly chopped
½ tsp Cumin
½ tsp Black Pepper
1 tsp Olive Oil
½ – 1 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
½ cup Water
1 ½ tsp Salt

Instructions
Put all items except liquids into a food processor. Blend and slowly pour water and lemon juice into mixture as it blends. Process until smooth. Garnish with fresh parsley if desired.

Make this tonight if you have kala chana in your fridge. Or tomorrow. Just take 10 minutes and make it and you’ll eat all week. Unless you eat like me and then I can assure you you’ll have enough for 2 days.