Hummus (hummis, houmous, hommus, or humus) is a dip made of chickpea paste with various additions (such as olive oil, fresh garlic, lemon juice, and tahini). It is popular all over the Middle East, Turkey, Greece, Cyprus, and increasingly in countries such as the UK and the US. It is traditionally scooped up with flatbread (pieces of pita) to be eaten, but it is increasingly popular as a dip for tortilla chips.

Hummus is relatively cheap to make at home. One may either use canned or dried chickpeas. In order to use dried chickpeas, they must be soaked in water overnight and then simmered for an hour or more to cook them. The cooked or canned chickpeas are ground either with a food processor or a hand blender with other ingredients. In addition to the standard ingredients of olive oil, lemon juice, and tahini; garlic, salt, cumin, and chili powder make excellent flavorsome additions. Peanut butter is occasionally substituted for the less common tahini.

It is also a nutritious food, containing a large amount of protein, dietary fiber, and mono-unsaturated fat, and is suitable for vegetarians and vegans. Hummus makes a nice lunch - garnished with parsley, paprika, tomatoes, cucumber, and/or thin-sliced onions, and scooped up with a pita or tortilla chips. As a snack, hummus's slightly salty taste and somewhat rough texture, punctuated with a tang, make it especially suitable to be eaten with celery and other raw vegetables.

In addition to being easily made at home, hummus can be usually be found in the chilled section of supermarkets and at delicatessens.

It has no obvious relation to the biological matter in soil called humus.

External links

• Hummus recipe