Making hummus from dried chickpeas

[Val]

As much as we love the stuff, I figured I'd go all out now and really make it from scratch...so I bought a pound of dried chickpeas today. How much of the dried do I use in order to end up with about 1 pound of cooked chickpeas, does anyone know? Does anyone here make their hummus from dried? May I ask the method? Thanks, chowfriends!

[Val]

GREAT success! Thanks, everyone...soaked the 'peas overnight...drained off the water (is that part totally necessary or is it okay to cook them in their soaking liquid? Seems like a waste of water) and put in fresh water to cover...brought to a boil then turned down the heat...they cooked in 30 minutes! Cooled 2 cups of the chickpeas and made my hummus...so easy! I did add the grated lemon zest along with lots of lemon juice, some fresh garlic, tahini and olive oil...I'm very happy!

[Caitlin McGrath]

In theory, you use fresh water when you cook the beans because the soaking water takes on some of that undesirable beany quality, if you see what I mean.

[Val]

I totally "get you" and thanks! Oh, I froze the remaining 'peas for other wondrous uses hopefully this week!

[jono37]

I've been rehydrating chickpeas in the pressure cooker for a while. Sometimes it can stll take a long time; a drop of baking soda facilitates the softening process. Somewhere I read that adding baking soda when you are cooking beans is a bad idea from a nutritional standpoint, but I can't remember why that might be. I had some black chickpeas that I cooked and cooked and they never softened. Finally I put them in a crockpot overnight and added baking powder, and they were mush by the next day!

[scubadoo97]

My only problem using baking soda is the chickpeas come out really soft if over cooked and the hummus has a pasty consistancy. I only have used a little. I might depend on how hard your water is before adding the baking soda

[Rmis32]

From "THE HUMMUS BLOG"

http://humus101.com/EN/2006/10/14/hummus-recipe/ http://humus101.com/EN/index.php?tag=...

[Val]

Thanks, Rmis...can't wait to make my new batch starting with soaking the 'peas on Friday night, finishing it on Saturday. I really like my hummus to be lemony...this time, I'll add some finely grated lemon zest to it, something I read about the other night that I'd never tried adding.

[alkapal]

val, do the lemon zests in steps. a little goes a long way, in my experience. also, remember that the longer the hummus sits, the more pronounced is the lemon oil's flavoring power.

[Val]

Thanks for the tip...I think the video I watched also cautioned to just use a little.

[coliwoggle]

From my experience with chickpeas, soaking them over night reduces the cooking time but is not necessary. Freshness makes a big difference so but them from a place that sells a lot and turns over the inventory regularly. Old chickpeas take forever to cook and really old ones never do...very frustrating.

Try adding flavour to the cooking water like garlic cloves, bay leaf or half an onion. It infuses the beans with a richer and more mellow flavour. Then adjust the recipe later on to compenstate.

Oh yeah and this goes for any dried legumes like lentils, black beans and such.

I love fresh made hummus too! Enjoy!!!

[scubadoo97]

I too would suggest you make the whole pound of chickpeas. I usually just make a large batch of hummus but have at times made a smaller batch and used the leftover chickpeas for salads, soups or stews during the week. If you have a pressure cooker you can go from bag to soft chickpeas in one hour.

[Val]

I do have a pc! But have read about chickpeas foaming & burning in it...so figured I would just try stovetop method first to be safe. But out of curiousity...for one pound of dried chickpeas, how do you cook them in the pc? Thanks!

[scubadoo97]

LIke any other dried bean. I have never had a burning or foaming issue. For foaming a few drops of olive oil or any other oil in the water will take care of that. Even a spritz of cooking spray

[Val]

Thanks...will probably look into using my pc for it eventually; pcs do save time and energy, for sure.

[adirao]

We normally cook them 20-25 minutes in the pressure cooker. Adding baking soda makes them softer.

[thew]

i was under them impression that you needed to only soak and soften the chickpeas, and not cook them as well.....

[Val]

oh, dear...wouldn't they still be raw, though? Just wondering...I mean, they'd be re-hydrated but still raw?

[thew]

wait - i had a brain fart. sorry for some reason i read hummus and thought falafel. apologies to all my ancestors.

[scubadoo97]

chickpeas can have that effect. :))

[Demented]

I make hummus 3 or 4 times a month.

Soak 1 cup of dry chickpeas in more than enough water to cover over night. Drain, place in a pot with 4 cups fresh water, bring to a simmer, reduce to low heat and cook for 3-4 hours.

With a slotted spoon, remove beans from cooking water to a mixing bowl, add ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil, mix to coat.

Place oiled beans in a food mill,process using the fine hole disc.

To the puree' add 2 T. lemon juice, 1/8 t. cumin, 1 or 2 pressed garlic cloves, enough of the cooking water to make the paste smooth and kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.

1 cup of dry garbanzo beans will yield 2 cups after soaking.

Don't know what the finished weight is, never cared.

[Val]

Thanks to both of you...I think I'll take nemo's advice and cook the entire pound and freeze what I don't use for the first batch since there IS quite a process to it. I've made hummus numerous times from canned garbanzos so that part, I'm comfortable with; it's just the beginning with dried chickpeas that I'm unfamiliar with...thanks again for your responses!

[nemo]

Val: You might as well cook the whole pound of dried, use what you need right away, and freeze the rest, covering in containers using some of the cooking water. I find the frozen, thawed, and drained beans are a little soggier than freshly boiled, but they work fine in hummus. As I recall, the beans swell up about three times in volume after cooking, but that doesn't really help you with the weight question. Most of the recipes I've seen call for 2 or 3 cups of cooked chickpeas, so if you have a scale, you could figure that out.

There's been a lot of debate about whether to soak overnight, do the quick soak method, or just cook from dried. I always soak overnight because I think it shortens the cooking time, but it's a personal preference thing.

Find a recipe that sounds tasty to you. I use chickpeas, tahini, garlic, lemon juice and salt. Sometimes I add a little cayenne for heat or parsley for green specks just because.
I'm tempted to add roasted red peppers one of these days. Whiz it up in a food processor.
It's certainly cost effective so you can have it around all the time.

[hotoynoodle]

i cook large batches of beans to portion and freeze all the time. i prefer them to canned because they are always firmer and hold up better in stews and such. storing them in cooking water is why yours are soggy. just drain, bag and freeze.

i usually soak overnight because it's mindless and requires less cooking/paying attention time. i also buy my beans in my ethnic neighborhood, so they're fresher than some might get.

[nemo]

Thanks, hotoynoodle. I got the suggestion to freeze in water from here on CH. I do have a bag of just plain ones frozen, so I'll thaw those and compare the texture.