Written By: Kriti Saraswat | Updated : June 24, 2016 3:06 PM IST
A Middle Eastern delicacy, the humble hummus is a dip essentially made of of chickpeas, olive oil, lemon juice and salt. Not only is it flavoursome, it is also packed with a whole lot of nutrition. This makes it a favourite amongst the health-conscious as well as the taste-conscious people.
Hummus helps with weight loss: Nutritionist Peggy Kotsopoulos says that since hummus is so rich in protein, it can help fight hunger cravings and balance blood sugar levels. This could help curb excessive snacking as it keeps you full for a longer period of time eventually helping you lose weight.
Chickpeas can lower cholesterol: In a study done by Jane Pittaway, an Australian lecturer in Health and Biomedical Science at the University of Tasmania's School of Human Life Sciences, a group of people aged between 30 and 70 and not in the best of health ate chickpeas every day for three years. She had a second group of people supply their daily fibre intake through wheat products like bread and cereal. The results showed that when both groups consumed the same amount of fibre, those on the chickpea diet consumed less fat and had a small reduction in cholesterol. Read more tips to control cholesterol level.
Chickpeas may help reduce cancer risk: Food items that contain folate may reduce the risk of colorectal cancers (like colon cancer). What's more? Researchers believe dietary fibre helps promote the growth of healthy bacteria in the colon which is also protective against cancer.
Hummus makes for a healthy dip: If you are trying to find healthier ways to continue to eat your (not so healthy) foods, hummus can be your saviour. Instead of the typical cream cheese, try hummus. You can also replace it for mayonnaise, butter and other calorie-rich dips.
The great thing about hummus is, you can add various flavours to it like basil, tomato, plain, etc to alter the taste slightly. Also, you can add falafel bullets to it, mix it with salad or make a wrap. This way, you won't get bored of eating it. Though you can find outlets which have hummus on their menu, it is relatively easy to make at home. Here's a recipe to make beetroot hummus by Chef Ranveer Brar.
Ingredients
Two tablespoons of lemon juice
Five to six garlic cloves
Two tablespoons of tahini paste
Half cup of oil
Half cup of beetroot paste
One-and-half cup of boiled chickpea
One cup of oil to blend
Two chapattis
Seven to eight olives
One cucumber
For garnish
Half teaspoon of oil
Parsley leaves as required
Procedure
Use a blender to mix lemon juice, garlic cloves and tahini paste.
Then add oil, beetroot paste and boiled chickpea and blend it again.
Gradually add oil to this mixture.
Cut strips of the chapatti then place an olive in the middle and roll it and put them in the skewers.
Cut cucumber batons and keep the prepared hummus in a bowl and add some oil to it.
Place the hummus bowl on a plate and keep the prepared skewers with cucumber batons.
Garnish it with parsley leaves.
You could also try making - Curried chickpea pita pockets and Warm spinach and chickpea salad
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With inputs from IANS/huffingtonpost.com
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