What makes musabaha different from standard hummus is that it features whole chickpeas. Unlike the smooth texture of hummus, musabaha is coarse and chunky.

Chef Ajay Thakur uses tahini sauce, hung curd, lemon, green chilly pesto and plenty of olive oil to create a Chilly Pesto Curd Musabaha that goes brilliantly with flatbread.

Chilly Pesto Yoghurt Musabaha

Serves: 2-3

Ingredients

For the hummus

• 250 gm or 1½ cups kabuli channa or chickpeas
• 1 tbsp tahini paste
• 1 tsp lemon juice or to taste
• Salt to taste
• 2-3 pods garlic
• Few cubes ice
• 1-2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

For the chilly garlic pesto

• Few green chillies or to taste
• 2-3 pods garlic
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• Salt to taste

To assemble

• 75 gm hung curd or yoghurt
• 25 gm chilly garlic pesto
• 1 tsp jeera or cumin powder
• 1 tbsp chopped parsley
• 2-3 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• 50 gm boiled chickpeas
• 35 gm fried chickpeas

Method

For the hummus

• Soak the chickpeas for 12 hours.
  Drain the water and rinse the chickpeas.
  Boil the chickpeas in a pressure cooker with plenty of water over high heat for 5-6 whistles.
  The chickpeas should be soft and mushy.
  Open the pressure and set aside to cool.
  If the chickpeas are not mushy, cook for a few more whistles.
  When cool wash the chickpeas again to remove any skin and drain.
• Transfer the chickpeas into a blender along with the olive oil, garlic, ice.
  Blend till it becomes a smooth paste.
  Add in the tahini and blend on high speed.
  If the mixture is too thin, add more tahini paste to thicken it.
  Add the salt and lemon juice per taste.
  Transfer into a bowl and refrigerate.

For the chilly garlic pesto

• Transfer all the ingredients to a mortar and pestle and grind until to a coarse paste.
  Set aside.

For the assembly

• In a bowl mix the hummus, hung curd, olive oil, boiled whole chickpeas and cumin powder.
• Place the mixture in a serving bowl.
  Top with the chilly garlic pesto. 
  Garnish with chopped parsley and fried chickpeas.
• Serve with flatbread and chopped raw veggies.

Chef Ajay Thakur is the corporate chef at Bayroute, a restaurant in Mumbai.

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