Sprouted Green Gram, Roasted Bell Pepper and Two Hummus Recipes

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Sprouted Green Gram, Roasted Bell Pepper, Orange Zest and Two Hummus Recipes

23 March 2012 30 Comments

Versatile dips & spreads which could be made quickly and peps up a meal instantly are my all time favorite. Ubiquitous green chutney with fresh coriander & mint leaves in my refrigerator tops the chart by all means. Yes, I eat it with my flat breads, use as sandwich spread, on crackers, tarts, Khatti rolls, pizza topping…and so on.. Hummus is one another favorite of mine, a refreshing & healthy dip prepared with chickpeas or Garbanzo beans. The recipe is often twisted & tweaked to come up with yummy surprises..well..almost always 🙂

The bland taste of boiled Chickpeas in Hummus gets its flavors from the spices, herbs and various aromatic ingredients used in the recipe. For a change I wanted to alter the base of Hummus (chickpeas) this time and substitute it with another lentil. Sprouted green gram and vibrant red bell pepper from my refrigerator wanted to be game this time.

I avoided boiling or steaming the green gram in the recipe and also roasted the red bell pepper before adding to the Hummus. Roasting the bell pepper gives a wonderful smoky flavor to the Hummus.

I kept the consistency of my Hummus slightly chunky to feel the taste of lentils and the veggies in it. The raw taste of sprouts is totally overpowered by the wonderful and slightly sweet tasting roasted red bell pepper. I must try to steam the sprouted green gram next time and see the difference it makes to the Hummus recipe. But for now here are the two flavorful crunchy and yummy Hummus recipes for you;

1. Orange Flavored Chickpea Hummus with Homemade Corn Tortillas

Sprouted Green Gram, Roasted Red Bell Pepper and Chickpea Hummus

sesame, orange zest and ground chickpeas..

This chickpea hummus recipe is flavored with orange juice and orange zest and served with homemade cornmeal tortilla chips and is a favorite of my children. The dressing is always kept simple to suit the palate of my children, I serve the same with steamed veggie sticks and deep fried tortilla chips. You could add a sprig of fresh mint and sprinkle paprika and cumin powder before serving the Hummus.

Ingredients;

(Serve 2)

1 cup soaked & boiled chickpeas
¼ cup Tahini
2 garlic cloves
2 tbsp. Olive oil
2 tbsp. orange juice
½ tsp. orange zest
Salt as desired
Paprika (optional)
Pine buts (optional)

Method; Wash and soak chickpeas overnight. Drain and boil it in 2 cups of water in a pressure cooker for about 6-7 whistle on high heat. If you are using normal vessel for cooking it will take 60-70 minutes for the chickpeas to get cooked.

Orange flavored chickpea hummus with homemade Tortillas specially for kids..

Take out and add the chickpeas in a food processor with a little of the water in which it was boiled. Grind it into a smooth paste. Add rest of the ingredients except nuts, paprika and olive oil and grind again till all the ingredients are mixed well.

If the Hummus is thick add the boiled water in which chickpeas were boiled.

Serve the Hummus in a serving dish make a well in the centre and pour Olive oil in it and garnish with paprika/sliced red bell pepper or orange zest and serve with whole-wheat crackers or vegetable sticks.

Tahini; Grind sesame seeds and olive oil into a fine paste and store. This makes the basic recipe for Tahini. Add a few herbs and garlic to the same paste and makes another version of a scrumptious spread.

Cornmeal Tortillas‘; Mix 1 cup of fine cornmeal with 1/4 cup of all purpose flour and knead with cold water. Roll into very thin sheets, cut int strips and deep fry or bake the Tortillas.

2. Sprouted Green Gram & Roasted Red Bell Pepper Hummus with Easy Bread Canapes

Roasted Red bell pepper

Ingredients;

(serve 2)

1 cup sprouted green gram
1 cup roasted and chopped red pepper
4 garlic pearls
1 tsp whole black pepper
1 tbsp. sesame seeds
2 tbsp. olive oil
½ tsp. crushed black pepper
½ tsp. roasted cumin powder
½ tsp. salt

Ingredients to go in..

Method; Washand soak whole green gram for 4-5 hours. Drain the water and tie it in a clean muslin cloth. Hang the muslin cloth in warm and damp place for one or two days. Sprinkle water every 4-5 hours to keep the gram moist.

Pierce red pepper with a fork and roast it on direct flame on stove top. This is easy and quick method to roast the bell pepper, you could also bake the same for about 20-25 minutes.

Peel the charred skin from the bell pepper and chop it into fine pieces.

Roast sesame in a little ghee or any vegetable oil (ghee or butter gives a nice aroma to the Tahini).

Creamy delight…

Grind all the ingredients except olive oil into a fine paste.

Serve the Hummus in a serving dish make a well in the centre and pour Olive oil in it. Garnish the hummus with a few pieces of chopped bell pepper and sprouted green gram.

Served with easy bread canapes

Bread canapes; Remove the sides from 4 slices of breads. Dip the bread slices in a bowl of water just for a second and take out. Avoid this step if the bread is fresh and very soft.

Fold the bread slices to fit into the muffin moulds in the form of cups. Bake it at 200°C for about 10 minutes till the canapés turn light brown in color. Take out and let it cool.

The aroma of roasted bell pepper is heavenly..

Fill the instant Bread canapés with 1 tablespoon of sprouted green gram Hummus, garnish with a few slices of bell peeper and sprouts. Serve as an appetizer/starter for a great party. Wholewheat crackers make a great starter for any party when served with this Hummus.

Perfect starters…wholewheat crackers served with Hummus

Bread canapés are easy to make and is a wonderful way to serve this yummy Hummus, it looks appetizing and makes a healthy fun food for children as well. Make homemade Tortillas as explained above to serve with Hummus. Another good option is to steam or grill veggie sticks such as carrots, cucumber and serve along with Hummus.

Notes;

In authentic hummus pepper or paprika is not added, since I wanted my hummus to be slightly spicy I added the same.
To make the chickpeas very soft add a teaspoon of baking soda while soaking them in water. Wash and then grind to a paste to make hummus.
I kept the sesame paste slightly chunky and coarse, you could grind it into fine paste also.
For the first recipe I avoided making Tahini and added roasted sesame (in butter/ghee) instead.
The sprouted green gram in this recipe is used in its raw form, boil or steam the same if you are not comfortable with raw taste.

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30 Comments »

sangeetakhanna said:

I just love hummus any which way. That orange one sounds interesting. Great clicks.

# 23 March 2012 at 4:25 pm

the wicked noodle said:

What unique flavors of hummus! It all looks so delicious and healthy!

# 23 March 2012 at 4:40 pm

Biren @ Roti n Rice said:

I love hummus too but have never made it at home. That needs to change. I like the exciting flavors you have introduced here. Will be so good on crackers, chips, etc.

# 23 March 2012 at 4:44 pm

Priya Sreeram said:

hummus with a healthy twist- tht’s yum !!!

# 23 March 2012 at 4:54 pm

chinmayie @ love food eat said:

This sounds really interesting! Love the idea of adding roasted peppers to the hummus.

# 23 March 2012 at 5:30 pm

Deepa said:

True the aroma of roasted bell peppers is heavenly…. The one on crackers look amazing

# 23 March 2012 at 6:29 pm

Nelly Rodriguez said:

Love this awesome variation of hummus!!!!

# 23 March 2012 at 7:27 pm

Spandana said:

Love the variety! And pic with hummus in bread cup is very good!

# 23 March 2012 at 9:03 pm

Sharmilee said:

Wow such interesting and healthy ideas

# 23 March 2012 at 9:18 pm

Vijitha said:

Hummus is the most healthy dip to snack on. I have been experimenting with different grains and different roasted vegetables while I am on SBD. I wanted to email you S, just wanted to ask whether you do any round ups for healthy recipes in your blog. I have few in the list.

# 23 March 2012 at 9:27 pm

sanjeeta kk said:

@Vijitha, not done it before but am planning to do the same shortly. Will keep you informed.

# 23 March 2012 at 9:42 pm

Anita Menon said:

Healthy and so refreshing in terms of flavour combinations. Beautiful

# 23 March 2012 at 9:28 pm

sayantani said:

very interesting idea. yesterday only we had pita, hummus, salad and chicken bites for dinner. I added a whole lot of lemon rind in it and loved the flavour. even made some sundried tomato hummus. but somehow dint like the taste much. this is an interesting and innovative idea. definitely try this out.

# 24 March 2012 at 1:13 am

Maureen @ Orgasmic Chef said:

I’m in love with everything in this post! How delicious everything looks.

# 24 March 2012 at 4:12 am

mjskit said:

Both of these hummus recipes sound fabulous! I’m not sure which one I would like best! I do like the idea of the sprouted gram and those cornmeal tortillas – well – I could eat those all day! Great post with lots and lots of tasty ideas!

# 24 March 2012 at 8:49 am

Nandita said:

The hummus looks so tempting. Loved the pictures Sanjeeta 🙂

# 24 March 2012 at 10:16 am

Sara said:

Love the healthy & flavorful Hummus recipes!Looks lip smacking good!

# 24 March 2012 at 11:15 am

dassana said:

hummus is my favorite too. loved the way you combined sprouted moong with roasted pepper.

both of your recipes are fab…

# 24 March 2012 at 12:12 pm

Sylvie @ Gourmande in the Kitchen said:

Wonderful variations on a classic dip!

# 24 March 2012 at 2:47 pm

Deeps @ Naughty Curry said:

oh wow!! so many varieties, bookmarked and cant wait to try them all, esp the bell pepper one 🙂

# 24 March 2012 at 6:15 pm

Angie@Angie's Recipes said:

Both are all great, but I love that roasted pepper one more…

# 25 March 2012 at 1:09 am

Gourmantine said:

Hummus and roasted bell peppers? Those have to be one of my favorite things on the plate. I usually add lemon zest to my hummus, would be interesting to try with orange zest.

# 25 March 2012 at 4:22 am

Helene Dsouza I Masala Herb said:

My husband would go crazy for your Orange Flavored Chickpea Hummus with Homemade Corn Tortillas. I would rather enjoy your red pepper hummus. Both look wonderful though, your photos r pretty look at too. =)

# 25 March 2012 at 7:06 pm

Julie M. said:

I’m a huge fan of spreads as well. Orange flavor combination sounds wonderful! I really love the little toast holders you recreated to hold the spread as well. Delicious post Sanjeeta!

# 26 March 2012 at 5:08 pm

Gayathri said:

Loved both ur hummus recipe …lovely click ..

# 26 March 2012 at 5:46 pm

Terra said:

I would have never thought to add orange flavor to my hummus, but it sounds intriguing:-) My hubby and I eat hummus almost everyday, and I love it in my wraps:-) Both of your hummus dishes look fantastic! Hugs, Terra

# 27 March 2012 at 10:39 am

Nami | Just One Cookbook said:

I love hummus! I have never tried that until I came to the US and it got me so addicted that I would dip everything in hummus. Thank you for your delicious recipe, Sanjeeta!

# 27 March 2012 at 11:00 am