Orange Blossom Water

Hummus is a Middle Eastern food that has become popular in other areas of the world. Hummus is made of chickpeas as the primary ingredient — after all, the word “hummus” means chickpeas in Arabic.

In Syria, Hummus has different varieties:

Hummus Bet-Tehineh: chickpeas blended with tahini, lemon juice, garlic and salt.

Hummus Bet-Tehineh W Lahmeh: same above but topped with meat and pine nuts.

Hummus Bi-Zeit Az-Zeitoun: a specialty of Hama, chickpeas blended with olive oil only. I’ll post it soon.

Let’s make Hummus Bet-Tehineh:

1, 2, 3, 4. Measure 300 g (1 1/2 cups) dried chickpeas and put in a deep pot.

5, 6, 7, 8. Rinse chickpeas in several changes with water.

9, 10, 11. Pour 2000 ml (8 cups) water to cover chickpeas.

12. Add 1/2 teaspoon Qelo to chickpeas or 1 teaspoon baking soda.

Qelo قلو: is a white powder. In Syria, it is added to to tenderize chickpeas during cooking. You can substitute with baking soda (each one teaspoon of Qelo equal to two teaspoons of baking soda), but Qelo is much way better and will not leave a bitter taste.

13, 14, 15, 16. Cover the pot, and let chickpeas to soak for 12 hours at room temperature.

17. After 12 hours, chickpeas will expand to over double their size.

18, 19, 20. Drain water from chickpeas.

21, 22, 23. Pour 2000 ml (8 cups) water to cover chickpeas.

24. Turn on heat and keep on high heat until boiling.

25 to 32. During boiling, a foam will occur on surface of the water. Skim any foam that rises to the surface.

33. Once boiling vigorously, reduce heat and keep on low heat and start to count time.

34, 35, 36. Cover the pot partially.

37, 38, 39. After 10 minutes of reducing heat, add 1/2 teaspoon Qelo or 1 teaspoon baking soda.

40. Keep the pot on low heat and partially covered.

41, 42, 43, 44. After 60 minutes of adding qelo or before chickpeas are fully cooked, take some chickpeas to a bowl.

45. The reserved chickpeas will be used for garnish, set aside.

46, 47, 48. Keep chickpeas on low heat until cooked and tender but not mushy, the total time for cooking chickpeas (step 33 – step 48) is 100 minutes. The time varies according to the type of the chickpeas.

49, 50, 51, 52. Weight of chickpeas after cooking is 790 g. Put the chickpeas in a bowl and allow to slightly cool before processing.

53, 54, 55, 56. Transfer cooked chickpeas to food processor.

57, 58, 59, 60. Add 75 g (1/2 cup) tahini to chickpeas.

61, 62, 63, 64. Add 120 g (1/2 cup) lemon juice to chickpeas. Add 1/4 cup and taste, then add 1/8 cup and taste, then add the rest if needed.

65. Add 1/2 teaspoon crushed garlic to chickpeas. Garlic is optional.

66, 67. Add 1 1/8 teaspoons salt to chickpeas.

68, 69, 70. Process the chickpeas continuously until it becomes very smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to integrate any large chunks.

71. Bring a serving plate.

72. Transfer hummus to the plate.

73 to 80. Use a back of spoon to smooth and make some swirly divets on the top.

81, 82. Garnish with ground Aleppo pepper.

83, 84, 85. Bring chickpeas that kept aside (step 45) and use to garnish hummus, put them in the middle.

86, 87, 88. Drizzle with olive oil and serve.

Hummus Bet-Tehineh W Lahmeh

Another way to serve Hummus Bet-Tehnieh is to top with meat. Hummus used here should be without crushed garlic.

89. Put Hummus in a serving plate and set aside.

90, 91. In a pan, heat 1/2 tablespoon ghee.

92 to 96. Add 20 g pine nuts to ghee and fry until golden brown in color, and set aside.

97, 98, 99. To same ghee, add 100 g fat free ground lamb meat. Brown the meat.

100, 101, 102. Season with 1/4 teaspoon salt and less than 1/8 teaspoon black pepper.

103, 104. Bring the plate of Hummus, the browned ground meat, and the pine nuts.

105, 106, 107. Top Hummus with browned ground meat then pine nuts, and serve.

108. Hummus Bet-Tehineh is served. First Hummus Bet-Tehineh garnished with ground aleppo pepper and olive oil. The other one Hummus Bet-Tehineh topped with meat and pine nuts.

109. Serve Hummus Bet-Tehnineh with Arabic flat bread, tomato, red radish, fresh mint leaves, parsley, cucumber pickles, turnip pickles, green onions, onions, green olive, and black olives.

Hummus Bet-Tehineh

From: Family Recipe / Servings: 3 People
PDF Text Only / Print With Images

300 g (1 1/2 cups) dried chickpeas 2000 ml (8 cups) water, to soak chickpeas 1/2 tsp qelo or 1 tsp baking soda 2000 ml (8 cups) water, to cook chickpeas 1/2 tsp qelo or 1 tsp baking soda 75 g (1/2 cup) tahini 120 g (1/2 cup) lemon juice, adjust to taste 1/2 tsp crushed garlic, optional 1 1/8 tsp salt Garnish Ground Aleppo pepper Reserved chickpeas, read directions Olive oil Hummus Bet-Tehineh W Lahmeh 1/2 tbsp ghee 20 g pine nuts 100 g fat free ground lamb meat 1/4 tsp salt Less than 1/8 tsp black pepper To Serve Arabic flat bread Tomato Red radish Fresh mint leaves Parsley Cucumber Pickles Turnip Pickles Green onion Onion Green olives Black olives

Measure 300 g (1 1/2 cups) dried chickpeas and put in a deep pot. Rinse chickpeas in several changes with water. Pour 2000 ml (8 cups) water to cover chickpeas. Add 1/2 teaspoon Qelo to chickpeas or 1 teaspoon baking soda. Qelo قلو: is a white powder. In Syria, it is added to chickpeas to tenderize chickpeas during cooking. You can substitute with baking soda (each one teaspoon of Qelo equal to two teaspoons of baking soda), but Qelo is much way better and will not leave a bitter taste. Cover the pot, and let chickpeas to soak for 12 hours at room temperature. After 12 hours, chickpeas will expand to over double their size. Drain water from chickpeas. Pour 8 cups (2000 ml) water to cover chickpeas. Turn on heat and keep on high heat until boiling. Once boiling vigorously, reduce heat and keep on low heat and start to count time. Cover the pot partially. After 10 minutes of reducing heat, add 1/2 teaspoon Qelo or 1 teaspoon baking soda. Keep the pot on low heat and partially covered. After 60 minutes of adding qelo or before chickpeas are fully cooked, take some chickpeas to a bowl. The reserved chickpeas will be used for garnish, set aside. Keep chickpeas on low heat until cooked and tender but not mushy, the total time for cooking chickpeas (step 33 – step 48) is 100 minutes. The time varies according to the type of the chickpeas. Weight of chickpeas after cooking is 790 g. Put the chickpeas in a bowl and allow to slightly cool before processing. Transfer cooked chickpeas to food processor. Add 75 g (1/2 cup) tahini to chickpeas. Add 120 g (1/2 cup) lemon juice to chickpeas. Add 1/4 cup and taste, then add 1/8 cup and taste, then add the rest if needed. Add 1/2 teaspoon crushed garlic to chickpeas. Garlic is optional. Add 1 1/8 teaspoons salt to chickpeas. Process the chickpeas continuously until it becomes very smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to integrate any large chunks. Bring a serving plate. Transfer hummus to the plate. Use a back of spoon to smooth and make some swirly divets on the top. Garnish with ground Aleppo pepper. Bring chickpeas that kept aside (step 45) and use to garnish hummus, put them in the middle. Drizzle with olive oil and serve. Hummus Bet-Tehineh W Lahmeh Another way to serve Hummus Bet-Tehnieh is to top with meat. Hummus used here should be without crushed garlic. Put Hummus in a serving plate and set aside. In a pan, heat 1/2 tablespoon ghee. Add 20 g pine nuts to ghee and fry until golden brown in color, and set aside. To same ghee, add 100 g fat free ground lamb meat. Brown the meat. Season with 1/4 teaspoon salt and less than 1/8 teaspoon black pepper. Bring the plate of Hummus, the browned ground meat, and the pine nuts. Top Hummus with browned ground meat then pine nuts, and serve. Hummus Bet-Tehineh is served. First Hummus Bet-Tehineh garnished with ground aleppo pepper and olive oil. The other one Hummus Bet-Tehineh topped with meat and pine nuts. Serve Hummus Bet-Tehnineh with Arabic flat bread, tomato, red radish, fresh mint leaves, parsley, cucumber pickles, turnip pickles, green onions, onions, green olive, and black olives.

Notes and Tips

300 g chickpeas is approximately 1 1/2 cups.

Qelo قلو: is a white powder. In Syria, it is added to to tenderize chickpeas during cooking. You can substitute with baking soda (each one teaspoon of Qelo equal to two teaspoons of baking soda), but Qelo is much way better and will not leave a bitter taste.

Here is a photo of ground Aleppo pepper, and click here to know more about it.

The amount of the meat in recipe is enough for one 6 inch (15 cm) plate.

This entry was posted on Saturday, October 21st, 2017 at 9:27 PM and is filed under Syrian Cooking. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.