Go Back

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

Method
 

Make The Tahini
  1. Carefully toast the tahini until well-browned -- never for a moment taking your eye off the pan, and stirring constantly
  2. Transfer to a food processor. Pulse a few times to powder
  3. With the motor still running, drizzle in the olive oil until you have a thick-but-pourable paste
  4. Store in a glass jar, refrigerated
Make The Hummus
  1. Soak the chickpeas overnight and cook the next day with salt and a ¼ teaspoon of baking soda
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. Now add the coriander and pulse until combined. Adjust salt and spices.
  7. 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.