Chickpea Dip

This hummus recipe is my favourite. Many store-bought dips are a bit bland, and other recipes I’ve come across have too much oil, but this tastes the closest to the spread we first tasted in Sharjah and have loved ever since. Called, Chickpeas with Tahini, it’s from Madhur Jaffrey’s World of the East Vegetarian Cooking.

What you’ll need:

* 2 cups cooked, drained chickpeas (I used two 400g cans of chickpeas, which more or less make up 3 cups)

* 1-2 cloves garlic (used 3-4)

* 4 tablespoons lemon juice (used 6 tablespoons)

* ½ teaspoon salt (1 teaspoon because I wasn’t paying attention)

* 3 tablespoons tahini (which is sesame seed paste and I used 4 and a bit tablespoons)

* 2 tablespoons cold water (3 tablespoons)

* ¼ teaspoon paprika (or chilli and about ½ teaspoon)

* 2 tablespoons olive oil

What to do:

 Pop everything in the food-processor, whizz until smooth. Then empty into serving container. Then Ms Jaffrey suggests: Sprinkle paprika and drizzle with oil, but I just mix the oil and chilli powder into the chickpea paste so everyone gets an ‘even taste’.