Carrot and Beetroot Hummus

Carrot and Beetroot Hummus

The more I have it, the more I love hummus. This Mediterranean dish is an absolute favorite in our house. Over time, I realized that I can play around with its flavors by mixing it up with different ingredients. Just the other day I made Hummus from Almond Pulp and it was yum. I had Almond pulp as leftover from making Organic Almond Milk, Since then I have been wanting to try other flavors in hummus.

I had reserved half a Beet and few carrots to make soup this week. However I decided to convert that to a Hummus recipe.

I like my hummus to be spicy and garlicy. This time I wanted to add an Indian tadka to it. In fact what I made today was a cross between Moroccan and Indian cuisine. Added lots of spices to reduce the sweetness from beets and carrots.

It is a very easy and quick recipe. Not to forget, healthy and nutritious too. I have used all basic ingredients which are easily available at home to make this recipe. Hummus can act as dips, sandwich or burger spreads , they can even be added to pasta instead of sauce. There are many recipes that can be made using hummus.

This hummus is very creamy and spreads easily. Its flavorful and spicy. You can experiment with it by adding spinach, edamame, avocado, etc. Here is my version of Carrot and Beetroot Hummus.

Ingredients
1.5 cups of boiled chick peas
1 beetroot peeled & roughly chopped
1 clove of garlic cut in half
2 carrots peeled & roughly chopped
1 tbsp dhania jeera powder
2 tbsp chilly powder
2 cloves
1 tbsp lemon juice
3-4 tbsp sesame seeds
1 tbsp ginger paste
1/4 tsp cinnamon powder
5 tbsp olive oil
Salt to taste

Method
Take a grill pan. I use this one - Lava ECO Enameled Cast-Iron 10 x 12 inch Grill Pan,Slate Black because this one is dishwasher safe..sorry I prefer kitchen utensils and pans which are dishwasher safe, so that life becomes easy. :)
Anyways, drizzle oil over the pan and grill the beets, carrots and garlic.

The veggies need to be well grilled and charred. You can sprinkle some salt as well. Keep tossing them so that they get cooked from all sides. Once done, keep them aside to cool. The veggies will become more tender by now.

Now we need a food processor, I swear by this one - Cuisinart DLC-2011CHB Prep 11 Plus 11-Cup Food Processor, Brushed Stainless. After my Indian brand mixer was broken, I was in hunt for a good mixer grinder which caters to Indian food as well. After much research, I finally got this one. It has a dough switch and makes dough easily. I also have used it to grind dosa/idli batter, chutneys, hummus, shred veggies, etc. I am surely content with it so far.
In the processor, add the boiled chickpeas.

Add all the spices - garam masala, chilly powder, dhania jeera powder, lemon juice, sesame seeds, cloves, ginger paste, cinnamon powder and salt.

Blend it well in the processor. Keep adding olive oil to smoothen the paste. Now add the grilled beets and carrots.

Blend them all again together. Keep mixing it at intervals. Add olive oil as required. Check salt.

It should be a hummus spread consistency. It's now ready. Scrape it out from the bowl onto a serving dish. Sprinkle some sesame seeds over it. Serve it with some baked chips, pita bread, veggies or crackers.

This is a very creamy and rich hummus. It is high in protein as well.

I have a bonus recipe for my readers today. Just a sampler on how you can use hummus in other dishes as well. Here I have made Hummus flavored Deviled Eggs. It is a very simple recipe and quick recipe. This is a nice breakfast option as well.

You need to cut the boiled egg in half, scoop out the yolk carefully into a bowl. Add hummus and olive oil to the yolk and mash it well. Scoop this back into the boiled egg. Sprinkle some salt and pepper over it and eat them!

I had some filling leftover, i just shaped them into small balls, dipped them in besan batter and deep fried them. Made Egg Pakodas out of them. However I didn't really like the taste of it as it had only the yolk with hummus. That was just a trial recipe and since it didn't turn out as expected, I chose to not share a picture of it.

Otherwise, the Hummus in itself is good. You can keep it refrigerated and use it for a week. I have made another recipe using this hummus. You can check it here - Fusion Gravy.