Hummus is a beauty that goes well with almost anything – bread, rotis, or as a dip, and is an all-time favourite even in our highly-Indian-food-loved household.

When I soaked the chick-peas the other night, I had something else in mind… trying out the Ethiopian Hummus.
Now, I haven’t eaten that before or even heard about it, had it not been for a friend who messaged me on my FB page asking for a recipe for this. Some reading up pointed me to some recipes and the story behind Berbere mix, and this link which had a good recipe.

Most sites talk about both Berbere and Ras-el-hanout mixes being similar to each other , except that the former is very spicy and the latter has the spices roasted before being ground, at least per the recipes I followed and used.

Some customizations I made to the prescribed Berbere mix - Since I treat both paprika and cayenne pepper powders alike, I used red chilli powder for that. I omitted the Allspice powder altogether and added Sumak, which I totally love.
So this is not really Berbere mix in its true essence, but is very close to it.

Some recipes recommend adding some onion powder to this mix, but I chose to add a few onion pieces to my hummus instead, which gave it a totally new taste.

In any case, the hummus tasted awesome, and we enjoyed it with pita bread! 

Hummus, the Ethiopian way

Serves – 6, for sandwich
Preparation time – 10 min
Level – Easy

Ingredients
Chick peas – 1 C, soaked in water overnight and boiled in a pressure cooker
Lemon juice – 3 Tbsp
Garlic cloves – 5-6 Cloves
Onions – ½, medium sized, inch pieces
Tahini paste – 1 Tbsp [Optional]
Berbere seasoning mix – 2 Tbsp, for seasoning
Sesame seeds – 1 Tbsp, for garnish
Salt – To taste

Instructions
Mix all but the seasoning mix in a blender till a smooth, thick paste is formed.
After the chickpeas are ground to a thick paste, mix in the Berbere spice mix.

Berbere seasoning mix

Serves – a lot more than just a batch of Hummus
Preparation time – 10 min, to assemble all the ingredients
Level – Easy

Ingredients
Red chilli powder - 3 Tbsp
Cardamom powder - 1 Tbsp
Coriander powder - 1 Tbsp
Fenugreek powder - 1 Tbsp
Cinnamon powder - 1 Tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1 Tbsp
Black pepper, ground - 1 Tbsp
Dry Ginger, ground – ½ Tbsp
Nutmeg, ground – ½ Tbsp
Sea salt - 1 Tbsp (or to taste)
Cloves, ground - 5-6
Sumak – ½ Tbsp

Instructions
Mix all the ingredients together, and store in a cool dry container.