Hummus is a Middle Eastern dip, spread, or savory dish made from cooked, mashed chickpeas blended with tahini, lemon juice, and garlic.
The chickpea is an annual legume. Its different types are variously known as gram or Bengal gram, garbanzo or garbanzo bean, or Egyptian pea. Chickpea seeds are high in protein. It is one of the earliest cultivated legumes, and 9500-year-old remains have been found in the Middle East.
The word hummus means chickpea in Arabic.
Tahini is a Middle Eastern condiment made from toasted ground hulled sesame.
The best hummus is lusciously creamy, yet somehow light and fluffy.
The word hummus comes from Arabic: حُمُّص‎, romanized: ḥummuṣ 'chickpeas'. The full name of the prepared spread in Arabic is ḥummuṣ bi ṭaḥīna 'chickpeas with tahini'. The colloquial Arabic word ḥummuṣ is a variant of the Arabic ḥimmaṣ or ḥimmiṣ which may be derived from the Aramaic language (ḥemṣīn, ḥemṣāy), corresponding to the Syriac word for chickpeas: ḥem(m)ṣē. The word entered the English language around the mid-20th century from the Arabic ḥummuṣ or via its borrowing for the name of the dish in Turkish: humus. Some claim that it was mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, in the book of Ruth as hometz, which can be derived from the word himtza for chickpeas.
Spelling of the word in English can be inconsistent, though most major dictionaries from American and British publishers give hummus as the primary spelling. Some American dictionaries give hommos as an alternative, while British dictionaries give houmous or hoummos.
The major British supermarkets use houmous.
Other spellings include homous, houmos, houmus, and similar variants. While humus (as it is spelled in Turkish) is sometimes found, it is avoided as a heteronym of humus, organic matter in soil.
As an appetizer and dip, diners scoop hummus with flatbread, such as pita. It is also served as part of a meze or as an accompaniment to falafel, grilled chicken, fish, or eggplant.
Hummus is a popular dip in Egypt where it is eaten with pita, and frequently flavored with cumin or other spices.
In the Levant, hummus has long been a staple food, often served as a warm dish, with bread for breakfast, lunch or dinner. All of the ingredients in hummus are easily found in gardens, farms and markets, thus adding to the availability and popularity of the dish. Hummus is usually garnished, with olive oil, "nana" mint leaves, paprika, and parsley.
Hummus is a common part of everyday meals in Israel. It is made from ingredients that, following Kashrut (Jewish dietary laws), can be combined with both meat and dairy meals. Chickpea dishes have long been part of the cuisine of Jews who lived in the Middle East and Northern Africa. The many Mizrahi Jewish immigrants from these countries brought their own unique variations, such as hummus with fried eggplant and boiled eggs prepared by Iraqi Jews. For example, the Yemenite quarter of Tel Aviv is known for its hummus with traditional skhug hot sauce. Israeli versions use large amounts of tahini for a creamier texture. According to Peli-Bronshtein "Israelis also added a hard-boiled egg next to the hummus. And the large quantities of tahini that are part of the hummus these days also are an Israeli thing." Many restaurants, called hummusia, run by Mizrahi Jews and Arabs are dedicated to warm hummus. Those restaurants are largely "male territory". It may be served as chick peas softened with baking soda along with garlic, olive oil, cumin and tahini. One of the hummus versions available is msabbaha, made with lemon-spiked tahini garnished with whole chick peas, a sprinkling of paprika and a drizzle of olive oil. Other versions, includes the foul, made with stewed fava beans, the pitryot made with mushrooms or the Jerusalem made with spiced ground beef and pine nuts.