Middle Eastern Kebobs with Toum

I adapted this recipe from one I found on Aarti Paarti.  (She has a video where you can watch how she makes the kebobs)  I made a few changes.  I used more garam masala, garlic and ginger.  This recipe uses pomegranate molasses which you can find at Middle Eastern or Indian grocery stores.  I had to grill these in two batches.  The molasses burns on the grill so I bunched up a paper towel and wiped the grill before I started the second batch.  You can adjust the amounts of fresh coriander and parsley.  I prefer more coriander and I think these would taste good even with just coriander. When adding the pomegranate molasses, after adding the first tablespoon don't scrape all the molasses out.  I found that when I did this it made the kebobs sweet.  Just put the first tbsp and then immediately measure the second.

I was searching all over the Internet on how to make Toum.  I found a bunch of different recipes and made a lot of adjustments and came up with the recipe below that we really like.

Muhammara Pasta

This is a recipe I adapted from Aarti Paarti.  I like this pasta but I think I like saying "Muhammara" more.  This is very quick. It is based on the Syrian dip Muhammara which is comprised of roasted red peppers, walnuts and pomegranate molasses.  You can find pomegranate molasses in Arab or Indian grocery stores.  I got mine from Iqbal in Thorncliffe.  This is a bit sour so if you want less of a sour bite you can reduce the lemon juice.  It is not a smooth pasta sauce.  If you would like it more smooth you can grind the walnuts in the spice grinder and then add it to the sauce.  The original recipe called for 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil which seemed like a crazy amount to add to me so I cut this in half.  In the video on the website, Aarti adds sundried tomatoes.  I only have the dried ones so I used those.  This made quite a lot of sauce.  You can use the leftovers as a dip.  Next time I'm going to reduce the amount of walnuts to try to reduce the fat. 

Lentil Soup

I got this recipe from a friend.  It is very easy to make and is very filling.  The changes I made was to increase the garlic and baby carrots.  Also, I use water.  I never have 6 cups of chicken broth lying around.  This soup is made in a pressure cooker but you could just as easily make it in a pot.  Serve with chilli oil (recipe follows) and slices of toasted baguette.  Now you can buy frozen loaves at the grocery store and just reheat in the oven for fresh bread.

Creamy Yogurt Hummus

This is my first blog post and it has nothing to do with chocolate or chillies...

Tomorrow I was planning on making some Arab kebabs and I want to have some hummus with it.  I love hummus and would love to make it at home but it calls for tahini, which I don`t have and has a lot of fat.  It also only comes in a huge jar which I`m barely going to use.  I found a recipe on Canadian Living which uses yogurt.  I only like to use CEDAR chickpeas.  I find other brands are inconsistent and most times are really dry.

I've made this hummus before and it turned out watery and really didn't have the flavor of hummus. So this time I put the yogurt in a cheesecloth to draw out the liquid.

I also toasted the sesame seeds before grinding them.  The consistency was better but it still doesn't taste like hummus.  I think next time I will skip toasting the sesame seeds.  I would call this more of a chickpea spread or dip than hummus.  My search for a low fat hummus continues.....