Mint leaves, Thai red chili peppers, and amchur hummus
A delicious hummus which mixes hot and fresh flavors at once. Brutal and comforting. Burning and soothing. Totally addictive.
Serves: a lot, until they realize they’re burning
Preparation: 25 minutes
I love hummus. I’ve already written this here. And I love this one especially, because it’s so dual in its flavors and in the effects it creates. Actually, I was so excited after I tasted my creation, that I told my first supporters (a group chat titled “Spicy Delights Lovers”) right away. It went like this:
Fanny: This looks amazing! Even though my imaginary taste buds are a bit confused. Looking at it I kind of thought it’s a vanilla custard-y type thing. But it sounds really good, is it a bit sweet due to the unripe mango or not really?
Guillaume: Absolutely not. The unripe mango powder adds to the lemon (there's half a lemon, peeled, in the hummus) taste. Then you get the punch of the 6 garlic cloves and 14 small thai red chili peppers. And the 25 mint leaves come to the rescue, holding you and whispering: "you're safe... I hold you dear".
Fanny: I hope you include that word for word in the written recipe because that’s both very soothing and also hilarious. 😄
I promised her I would. Hence the quote above.
Be cautious, however, as this recipe includes a good quantity of Thai red chili pepper. Although “mint leaves come to the rescue”, this hummus is still extremely relevant to illustrate the definition of pungency. Feel free to reduce the chili pepper from “good quantity” to “moderate quantity”.
About amchur
I have previously mentioned amchur, in my recipe Thai-style, fresh-flavored tofu and vegetables sauté. It was an optional ingredient, so I didn’t explain what it was. I discovered this ingredient with an Indian recipe of rawalpindi chana dal — along with other ingredients I had never heard of. It took me months to finally gather all necessary ingredients, and I especially liked the unconventional taste of amchur. Amchur is made of unripe, green mangoes, which are sliced, dehydrated or dried, then ground into a fine powder. Although its Wikipedia page mentions it has a honey-like taste, I can’t confirm. I’m more attracted by its light-fruity, sour flavor. I’ve found another great recipe which requires it, a chicken and dal balti; I successfully veganized it, and since then there’s always amchur available in my kitchen.
Ingredients
845 g of canned chick peas (gross weight, 520 g net weight without the liquid)
1 small yellow onion ~ 60 g
6 garlic cloves ~ 35 g
Half a lemon
3 soup spoons of tahini1
14 small Thai red chili peppers (mine come from a jar, where they’re soaked in vinegar) ~ 27 g
25 mint leaves
6 g amchur
Salt
Preparation
As pictured above in Ingredients, there’s little to prepare. As a consequence, all necessary steps are listed below — there’s no dedicated Cooking section further down.
Peel and chop finely the yellow onion
Peel and chop finely the garlic
Peel the skin of the lemon to keep only its flesh (without the zest and rind)
Put the chickpeas and the liquid from the can into a pot or a deep pan
Heat the pot to medium flame/power; bring its content to a boil
Cook for 15 minutes, stir occasionnally
Leave to cool down a bit if necessary (for example if you plan to use plastic-made cookware to mix afterward)
Put the whole content of the pot into a mixer or blender
Add the lemon, onion, garlic cloves, mint leaves and red chili peppers; mix (or blend)
Add the tahini; mix (or blend)
Add the amchur; mix (or blend)
Transfer into a sealable container; leave to cool before sealing, then refrigerate
Like regular hummus, this one is best appreciated after it has cooled down, then been refrigerated. Especially, the fresh mint flavor is at its best after being refrigerated. If you can hold on for 4 to 6 hours, all aromas will mingle, and you’ll enjoy it more. It will develop this incredible, hot and fresh effect. Enjoy it as is on bread, spread on a wrap or dürüm, or on the side of a bowl of hot jasmin thai rice. It’s a bridge between Levantine and Thai cuisines.
Enjoy!
If you’ve tried the recipe, and would like to comment - whether you loved it, or hated it - please do so. I’m welcoming ideas, even if these are non-vegan recipes I’ll have the challenge to “veganize”.
Here’s a tip before you go
When preparing hummus, you can control how thick or fluid it is with two parameters: the amount of liquid, and the amount of tahini. If you boil the chickpeas with the liquid from the can for longer, or stronger, its volume will reduce, and the hummus will be thicker — you can also retain some liquid in the pot and not pour it all into the mixer or blender. If you add more tahini, it will be thicker, too. Beware that adding too much tahini will change its taste. On the other end, you can add water to make the hummus more fluid; it won’t dilute its taste if you’re adding only a little. Thick or fluid — it’s up to to you.
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Be cautious: tahini is made from sesame, which is a know allergen