Hummus Bi Tahini

Hummus is a dip/ spread that is made from chickpeas. In fact, hummus is the Arabic word for Chick pea. The cool thing about Middle eastern food is that no recipe is set in stone. You can vary the ingredients to suit your taste and still end up with something amazing on your plate. This delicious puree can be served over salad, as part of a Turkish style mezze, a dip or even as a sandwich filling. Don't let rules bind you … go have some fun!


Hummus Bi Tahini (with Tahini – sesame paste)

What you need:
Juice of two lemons
2 Garlic cloves, sliced
2/3 cup Tahini paste
Flat leaf parsley – to garnish
¾ cup dried Chickpeas
2 Tbsp Olive oil
Pinch of Cayenne Pepper
Salt and Ground Black pepper, to taste
Extra Olive oil and Cayenne pepper for sprinkling

What to do:
Put the chickpeas in a large bowl with plenty of cold water and leave them to soak overnight.

Throughly rinse and drain the chickpeas, then place them in a large pan and cover with fresh water. Bring to the boil and boil rapidly for 10 mins. Reduce the heat and simmer gently for 1 ¼ - 2 hrs until soft. Drain the chick peas in a colander and puree in a food processor until they form a smooth paste.

Add the lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, cayenne pepper and tahini paste and blend until creamy, scraping the mixture down from the sides of the bowl. Season the puree with plenty of salt and black pepper and transfer to a serving dish.

Sprinkle with a little olive oil and cayenne pepper, and garnish with a few parsley sprigs. Serve
with toasted pitta bread and olives if you like.

NOTE: Tahini is a paste that is made from sesame seeds, cumin and sesame oil. It is used in many middle eastern recipes, so it is a useful ingredient to have.

Chicken in Mustard Cream Sauce

My friends and I went to this beautiful restaurant in Bangalore, 100Ft Boutique and they served a lovely Chicken in Mustard Cream sauce. I was hooked and had to try to replicate the recipe at home. So after scrounging the net for about an hour I realized that Mustard Cream Sauce is a classic recipe that every culinary student will learn sometime in their career. So my learning begins now. The recipe called for Chicken breasts but I used some drumsticks as well. I also used a mix of both white wine and chicken stock. I served the chicken with carrot shavings and mashed potatoes. If I must say, it turned out pretty darned good. Maybe I’ll try the sauce over some grilled fish next time… Sublime!


Chicken in Mustard Cream Sauce

What you need:
4 Chicken Breasts
½ tsp Salt
½ tsp Pepper
¼ tsp Cayenne pepper powder
Flour for dredging
1 cup dry White wine/ Chicken stock
¼ cup chopped Shallots
2 tsp Oil
2 cups Cream
¼ cup Dijon Mustard
½ tsp Salt
¼ tsp Cayenne pepper powder
2 tsp chopped fresh tarragon

What to do:
Mix flour, salt, pepper and Cayenne in a zip lock bag. Add Chicken pieces and shake well to coat all the pieces. Take them out and place on a wire rack in the refrigerator for about 20 mins.

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken; sauté until cooked through, 10-12 mins. Transfer to a plate, keep warm.

Heat oil in a saucepan, add shallots and sauté until translucent. Add wine/stock and bring to a boil and cook until reduces to half. About 2 mins. Whisk in cream, mustard, salt, cayenne and tarragon. Cook, whisking, until thickened, about 2 mins.

Pour any accumulated chicken juices into the sauce. Right before serving drizzle cream sauce over chicken.