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Palakottai Hummus With Home-Made Tahini

A beautiful variation on the classic hummus made with jack fruit seeds, rich in protein, vitamin A and iron. Easy to make and puts you in touch with all kinds of new ways to process local ingredients!

Ingredients
  

For The Hummus

  • ½ cup chickpeas
  • 1 cup of jackfruit seeds
  • 2 teaspoons tahini see the recipe below, or substitute with store-bought
  • 4-5 large cloves of garlic
  • juice of 1 whole medium-sized lemon
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika or red chilli powder
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds dry roasted and roughly crushed
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • Ice cubes and water to blend (jack seeds are thirsty beings)
  • 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil plus a few tablespoons more, as needed
  • small bunch of fresh coriander leaves and stems or parsley, roughly chopped

For The Tahini

  • 1/2 cup sesame seeds
  • less than 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Instructions
 

Make The Tahini

  • Carefully toast the tahini until well-browned -- never for a moment taking your eye off the pan, and stirring constantly
  • Transfer to a food processor. Pulse a few times to powder
  • With the motor still running, drizzle in the olive oil until you have a thick-but-pourable paste
  • Store in a glass jar, refrigerated

Make The Hummus

  • Soak the chickpeas overnight and cook the next day with salt and a ¼ teaspoon of baking soda
  • Boil the jackfruit seeds until tender, also with salt. If you have not removed the white, papery seed-coats prior to cooking, then be sure to remove them after the seeds are cooked.
  • If you’ve not dry roasted the cumin, do it now. Transfer to a mortar and crush roughly with a pestle until ground but not too powdery.
  • Assemble all hummus ingredients except the coriander or any fresh herbs you may be using in the jar of a food processor, and pulse to combine. Then add a few cubes of ice and blend again, slowly, until the mixture is thick and creamy.
  • Jack seeds are crumbly, thirsty little beings, so don't hesitate to add water bit-by-bit until you have the smoothness you desire. You can also save a few seeds to add at the end (pulse to combine) if you prefer some chunky texture in your hummus.
  • Now add the coriander and pulse until combined. Adjust salt and spices.
  • Transfer to a serving dish and mix in half the olive oil. Use a spoon to create swirls, and drizzle the remaining half of the olive oil on top.