Hummus Recipe : Easy and Delicious

Being in Kuwait for several years, it was pretty easy to develope the taste for good Arabic/Middle eastern food. And what is better than Hummus. Of course we all have our variations and I have mine as well. The ingredient which really adds the kick in my hummus is green chillies. :) Here is my very simple recipe. Dump the following in a food processor and blend till smooth. 2 cans of garbanzo beans (drained and washed) 2 tablespoons Tahini (sesame paste available at mediterranean stores) 2 thai green chillies ( add more or less upon your spice level) 2-3 table spoons lemon juice 4-5 cloves of garlic (Again more or less depending on your taste) 2-3 heaped tablespoons of yogurt (to make it richer you can add sour cream instead) salt to taste Blend the above ingredients till smooth and then add in 2-3 tbsp olive oil to make the mixture smooth. Serve garnished with drizzle of olive oil, tomatoes, olives and enjoy with pita or chips.

Travel Entry: Punjabi Food

I had to dedicate one entry regarding my trip to India just for the food we ate in Punjab. Mostly vegetarian and very very delicious. The flavor of the vegetables in the North of India is really not found anywhere else in India.

First, breakfast! Nothing like stuffed Kulchas in the morning. These are made of wheat dough and stuffed with cauliflower or tangy potatoes or panner (cottage cheese) and then cooked in a tandoor oven slapped against the walls of the hot tandoor. Served with spicy cholas (garbanzo beans) and pickle. Oh and how can I forget.. That IS a big chuck of butter! Have two of these in the morning and you are all set!

The best thing that goes after the kulchas is a hot cup of tea. And yes, the young couple next to me are my Mom and Dad. :)

For snaking during the day, nothing like hot pakoras (vegetable fritters) with chutney. To get them extra crisp these are fried twice! Sinful!
After mentioning Pakoras, talking about samosas is the right thing to do. Check out these busy bees stuffing dough with a spicy potato mixture for samosas and see the picture following it. Do you blame me for overeating?

Another favorite snack.. Pani Puri. These are hollow and crisp, filled with a small quantity of potato and then filled with a spicy chilled beverage. They are hard to resist, but due to the unknown source of water used, I would recommened having these only in reputable resturants and not on the streets.

Not an uncommon site to see people cooking on the street in the early mornings. Here puris are being made. Puris are made from wheat flour and then deep fried. Check out the size of the wok!

And it is almost impossible to go to Punjab and not try some tandoori chicken. This is where you can eat "real" tandoori chicken and this is how it looks like. I am so tired of trying every Indian resturant in the US trying to find a decent place that serves tandoori chicken with isn't floroscent pink.

Next week, I hope to share some techniques of how I make tandoori naan at home.