Comparison Chart

Only in Israel	Also in Israel	Not Only in Israel
Israeli Humous	Toblerone	Opinionated Taxi Drivers

For the first installment of my comparison chart I will now reveal information that has the potential to move Humous from the first column to the last. But first, a word about the triangular (or actually, prism shaped) chocolate. Once on a time, toblerone meant someone had been abroad, and was bringing you a consolation prize from the duty free. Now you can pick it up in Superpharm next to the cashier. I think its cachet has dropped greatly as a result. More on chocolate in a future installment.

About Humous, I heard recently that Lebanon is gearing up to sue Israeli manufacturers that label their Humous "Lebanese Humous", so "Israeli Humous" may be a misnomer anyway.

But for all you homies who first ran into good Humous in Israel, and are now stuck in a frozen wasteland -- this recipe is for you!

Humous from scratch

The first thing to explain about making "Humous" is that without a good Tehina mixed in, Humous will never be that creamy spreadable delicacy you have gotten used to; properly this recipe should be called "Humous with Tehina".

Ingredients:

Chickpeas - sorted and soaked 8 to 24 hours, they will at least double in size

Raw Tahini (should be available in healthfood stores)

Lemons or lemon juice (or, in a pinch, citric acid)

Olive oil

Spices:

Crushed garlic (optional)

Cumin

Hot paprika

Salt, Pepper

Instructions:

1. Cook the chickpeas until very soft. Some people swear by adding a tablespoon or two of baking soda to help out. A pressure cooker can speed this up.
2. Drain the chickpeas. If you want a very smooth humous, let them cool a bit, then rub between your palms to remove the thick jacket. If you do this, you can float them off by rinsing the chickpeas in water again. Reserve some whole ones for garnish.
3. Put cooked chickpeas in a flat bottomed bowl. Add water until you start seeing it around the bottom of the upper peas. Then squeeze lemon juice to nearly cover, and add a large dollop of raw tahina (don't forget to give the raw tahina  a good stir before using it -- it has tendency to separate).
4. Add your spices, and use a stick blender until it is as smooth as you want it. If it is too thin, add some more tahina. If it tastes (tahina) bitter -- more lemon juice. A regular blender will work as well.
5. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil, a few whole chickpeas, some chopped cilantro, a shake of hot paprika, Zaatar, etc'.