Grilled Vegetables with Hummus

My office cafe has a salad counter that offers a range of delectable salads. Though it taste great, I find it tad too expensive. But that has been my experience at food courts at prominent malls as well. They price the food very high. I recently ordered a bowl of veggies with hummus at a mall and was taken aback at the price. I thought why not try making it at home.

I found a good recipe for hummus here and decided to give it a try.

For hummus

1 cup dried chickpeas (kabuli channa)
juice of 1 lime
tahini paste
1 tbsp garlic, finely chopped
2 tbsp curd / yogurt
olive oil
a pinch of kashmiri chilli powder / Paprika
salt as per taste

For tahini paste

1/2 cup white sesame seeds
2 tbsp olive oil

For veggies

1 large red bell pepper (capsicum) cut into 1 inch cube
1 large yellow bell pepper (capsicum) cut into 1 inch cube
200 gms brocolli, separated into florets
200 gms mushrooms, cut into long thin slice
1 tsp dry oregano seasoning
1 tsp dry basil
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp pepper powder
salt as per taste

Method

Run the chickpeas under tap water couple of times and soak it over night (at least 6 hours). Ensure that the water is double the volume of the chickpeas. When ready, drain the chick peas  and place them in a pressure cooker with plenty of water (I used 3 cups of water). Add a pinch of salt (optional). Cover and cook till the first whistle. Then reduce the flame to medium and cook for 5 whistles. 

In the meanwhile, clean the vegetables and chop them. Discard the hard stem of the broccoli. Toss in the rest of the ingredients and let it sit for 30 minutes.

In a heavy skillet, dry roast the sesame seeds. Stir frequently to ensure even browning. Let it cool. 

Once the chickpeas are done, let it stand for sometime till the steam is gone. Drain the chickpeas into a colander and retain some of the water. Run cold water over the chickpeas. Take a handful in your hand and gently rub them to remove the skin. Repeat it till you complete for the entire lot. 

Pulse the roasted tahini couple of times in a mixer. Ensure that you are using a large jar. Add a tbsp of olive oil at a time and process it, scraping down the sides. The texture would be slightly gritty but it will not matter. Add the chopped garlic, curd and lime juice and process it for a minute. 

Add the chickpeas in batches and process it till it almost reaches the consistency of a cheese spread. Use the water reserved from cooking the chickpeas or add more water if required. Do a taste check for salt.

Transfer the hummus into a serving bowl and garnish it with a dash of olive oil, chilli powder / paprika and olives. Hummus can be refrigerated for a week.

Heat a tbsp of olive oil in a grill pan and grill the vegetables. Ensure that you are turning the vegetables frequently to ensure even grilling. The broccoli was ready in 5 min. The bell peppers takes time (around 10 to 12 min). I grilled the mushrooms separately as it releases water. The veggies have to be cooked as well as retain a bit of the crunchiness. Mushrooms were ready in less than 5 min. 

Transfer them onto a serving plate and serve it along with hummus.