The Meaning of Life and Other Vegetables

Hello everyone.

I feel it’s time for another break from deep meaning… Today I’m going to explain how to make Hommous Masabacha.

But first, I need to explain what it is.

Hommous Masabacha means, in Arabic, “breakfast Hommous”. Technically, “breakfast chickpeas”. However… Hommous is a bit more than “just” chickpeas. Yes, the word can be used for any type or form of preparation of chickpeas. But many of you are familiar with Hommous as a dip / a spread (a paste). In that form, it’s great with many kinds of bread; typically served cold or at room temperature; and with all kinds of sauces or additives. Hommous paste is made, basically, by cooking the chickpeas kernels (technically, they are beans, but let’s not fuss over it), then processing them into a paste with Tahini (you might know it as Tahina), a few other ingredients, and spices.

But here is an awesome secret: That processing might not be necessary. It might even be detrimental. You can actually make an awesome Hommous dip from similar ingredients, WITHOUT the processing. The resulting texture is different, and in my opinion it’s much more satisfying. If you cook the chickpeas properly, and add Tahini sauce, you get a consistency that might resemble a dip, so it can serve a role similar to Hommous paste. This is Hommous Masabacha. I will now explain in detail how it’s done. It might sound silly – anyone can cook chickpeas and make Tahini sauce, right? Right. But there are nuances, and everyone has their own little methods. The following is the result of a lengthy search, integration, and then a lot of experimentation, until I got it just right. At least, right for me…

Note: You will need to start preparing 2 days before the time you plan to eat it. Yes, it’s worth it!

Ingredients:
2 cups dry chickpeas (if you have a choice, go for the smaller kernels)
Plain salt
1 big brown onion (or 2 small ones)
3 big garlic cloves (or 6 small ones) + 1 small clove for the Tahini sauce
2 teaspoons Soda Bicarb
About 200g raw hulled Tahini paste (ground sesame seeds)
1 big lemon (or 2 small ones)

Method:
Place the dry chickpeas in a bowl at least twice the volume of the dry chickpeas (>1 litre). cover with cold tap water and mix thoroughly (wash) for 5-10s. Strain. Repeat the wash 5 times in total (yes), then strain and leave the bowl empty.

Place 2 tablespoons of salt at the bottom of the same bowl. Return the washed chickpeas to the bowl, on top of the salt. DO NOT MIX. Fill the bowl with cold tap water, to about 2-3cm below the rim. DO NOT MIX at any stage. Place the bowl in the fridge overnight.

The next day, drain the chickpeas, and wash 3 times as on the previous day. Re-place salt (2 tablespoons) and washed & strained chickpeas in the bowl, and top up with water, as on the previous day. Place in the fridge overnight.

The next day, drain the chickpeas, and wash 3 times as on the previous day. When done washing, place the drained chickpeas in a big pot (at least 5L). Peel the onion and 3 big garlic cloves, and add whole to the pot. Fill the pot with hot tap water, to about 5cm below the rim. Bring to the boil, then reduce heat so a gentle bubbly simmer. Skim the foam and continue to cook uncovered.

15 minutes after boiling, remove the foam again, adjust the heat to ensure a gentle bubbly simmer and stir the chickpeas.

After another 15 minutes, repeat the foam removal and the stir as above.

After yet another 15 minutes (45 minutes boiling in total) repeat the foam removal and the stir as above. Top up the pot with boiling water to about 5cm below the rim (do not overfill!). Make sure heat is low and add 2 teaspoons of Soda Bicarb (expect a momentary gush of foam – don’t stress, just let it settle). Remove the remaining foam, give the chickpeas a stir and adjust the heat to ensure the gentle bubbly simmer as before.

Continue removing the foam (until not much appears anymore) and giving the chickpeas a stir at 15 minutes intervals, for another 45 minutes in total. Try a few chickpeas – if they aren’t soft enough, continue as above, at 15 minutes intervals, until satisfied.

Turn off the heat, remove the onion(s) completely and discard it. Drain completely. The garlic cloves may remain with the chickpeas (yummy if you like garlic). The chickpeas are now ready to eat, or can be kept in the fridge, covered, for up to a week (not suitable for freezing, as it will destroy their smooth consistency), microwaved for eating, or eaten cold. For warm serving, they need to be kept separate from the Tahini.

Note: No salt is added to the chickpeas at any stage of the cooking (other than in the pre-soaking, as described above). It’s mostly unnecessary, and can always be added with a shaker, after the dish is served (fresh ground black pepper works great on top, too).

To make the Tahini sauce, place the raw Tahini paste in a large (at least 1L) glass bowl. Add the juice from the lemon(s) and begin mixing slowly with a sturdy spoon, until the juice is absorbed and you start to get a (very) thick paste. Add about ¼ cup of water and continue mixing thoroughly (but not fast) until the water is absorbed and the paste gets a uniform consistency. Keep adding ¼ cup of water at a time, then mixing thoroughly to a smooth paste – look for any lumps remaining in the mix, and integrate. Make sure to frequently remove all the paste off the spoon and add back to the mix, as the paste will initially get very sticky and otherwise you’ll get chunks of raw Tahini left behind (it doesn’t mix in easily later).

Take your time and don’t add more water each time until the paste is very uniform. It will gradually get thinner, and transform from a thick sticky paste to a pale, more runny liquid. Stop adding water when the sauce is quite runny and readily flows off the spoon (rather than falling off in chunks). Once ready, the sauce will significantly thicken overnight, and continue to thicken through the following days (as the sesame absorbs the water molecules), so it’s recommended to make it somewhat runnier than eventually desired (though it can be diluted at any time, by adding a tiny bit of water and mixing well).

Once the desired consistency is reached, add salt to taste (1 pinch is usually enough), and grate 1 small (or very small, depending on preference) garlic clove into the mix. Mix thoroughly and adjust to taste. The Tahini sauce is now ready for eating, and tastes best before any refrigeration. It can, however, be kept in the fridge for up to a week, though the consistency & taste usually start to deteriorate after about 4 days. The container should be well sealed, so the sauce doesn’t dry up or form a dry skin on top. Give the container a good stir whenever serving from the fridge.

Hommous Masabacha Serving:

The chickpeas taste best when warm (not piping hot!). They are best served right after the initial cooking (the Tahini sauce will help cool them down a bit). Place a nice portion in a deep soup bowl, and top with plenty of Tahini sauce (about 3-4 tablespoons per serve). Optional toppings: A squeeze of lemon, olive oil, cumin / coriander seed powder, fresh chopped coriander/parsley, hot chili powder/flakes/sauce, ground black/white pepper, thyme… Feel free to be creative and invent your own favourite combination!… Hard boiled sliced/quartered eggs can be a yummy addition on top, and a fresh pita bread on the side will perfect the serving (if your pitas have pockets, the Hommous can go inside the pita).

To serve from the fridge, microwave some chickpeas and top with Tahini sauce afterwards (do not heat up / microwave the Tahini sauce). Finish off with your favourite toppings.

Warning: It is addictive and you will not want to stop! But Tahini sauce has an extreme, delayed, filling effect. This superfood will stay in your stomach for a long time, as it contains a lot of protein and some fat (oil from the sesame), and the fresh Tahini will suck up a lot of stomach fluids, creating a euphoric cement in your belly… Blood will rush from your brain to your stomach and you will want to take a happy nap – guaranteed! When properly made (not rushed), this dish will not give you extra wind/bloating, since the longer fibres will be broken down during the long cooking with Soda Bicarb.

Note: If you’re sensitive to the taste/feel of Soda Bicarb you can reduce the amount to 1 teaspoon. The resulting consistency might be less soft/smooth, however, and a longer cooking time might be necessary. On the extreme, you can avoid the Soda Bicarb altogether (but a long cooking duration will be necessary to get the chickpeas to soften properly). Some say that soft chickpeas are easily made in a pressure cooker, but others see this strictly as heresy! I don’t own a pressure cooker so I can’t vouch.

Peace to all.