It’s time for some change. I have baked quite a few desserts in the past few weeks and wanted to cook something which is as interesting and which we don’t eat very frequently and is not a dessert. Middle eastern food pops up. When I think middle eastern food, first few things that comes to mind are Pita Bread, Beetroot Hummus or Pumpkin Hummus, Baba Ganoush and Falafel. I made a traditional Middle Eastern dish for today’s lunch and everyone loved it.
Pita bread is an integral part of the Middle Eastern cuisine and can be stuffed with array of ingredients to make a Falafel or can be eaten as such with any kind of dip. The key to make a good Pita is to bake it at a very high temperature, so that it puffs up immediately leaving a pocket in between. As the bread cool and flattens, a pocket is left in the middle and this gives it a great texture and taste.
Recipe to make Pita Bread with Hummus and Baba Ganoush Dip
- Pita Bread
- Whole Wheat flour- 1 cup
- All purpose flour- 1 cup
- Salt-1/2 tsp
- Warm water-3/4 cup
- Active dry yeast-1/4 tsp
- Olive oil-1 tbsp
- For Hummus
- All you need is
- Garbanzo beans(chole)-1 can{you can use dry chole and soak them overnight}
- Garlic cloves-8-10 {I love the flavor of garlic, if you want to use less feel free }
- Extra virgin olive oil- 3tbsp
- Tahini- 2tbsp {In a blender , blend 2 tbsp of sesame seed, add 1 tsp of sesame oil or olive oil, salt and little warm water , blend to make a smooth paste }
- Juice of 2 lemons
- Salt
- Cumin powder-1/4 tsp
- Chilli flakes-1/2 tsp
- Warm water-approx ½ cup
- For Baba Ganoush
- Aubergine-1
- Tahini- 2tbsp (Recipe in Hummus)
- Lemon juice- 2tbsp
- Garlic-5-6 cloves
- Greek or hung yogurt- 2tbsp
- Salt
- Olive oil- 2tsp
- Chili flakes-1/2 tsp
- Fresh coriander for garnishing
- For Pita Bread
- Place all the ingredients in a bowl and knead to form a soft dough
- Knead the dough for 5-6 mins
- Cover and keep for 2 hours
- Divide the dough into 15 equal sized balls and allow the balls to rest for 30 minutes
- Pre heat the oven to 450 degrees F
- Dust and roll each ball to a 5 inch circle
- Bake for 5 mins at 450 degree F
- For Hummus
- Blend all the ingredients in a blender till a smooth paste is formed
- Do not add water all at once
- First add a little and if you feel the dip is too thick then add more
- The dip will thicken a bit after refrigerating , so make it a little thinner than you would like it
- Refrigerate the Hummus for a few hours before serving so that the flavors blend well
- Before serving drizzle with EVOO, chili flakes and fresh coriander
- For Baba Ganoush
- Prick the aubergine at 5-6 places with a knife
- Roast aubergine on stove top from all the sides till it is soft from inside
- Insert a knife to check
- If the knife gets no resistance while passing through , the aubergine is done
- You can also roast the aubergine in a oven for an hour
- Peel and chop the flesh
- In a blender , add all the ingredients except fresh coriander and blend till smooth
- Add little water if required
- Drizzle with olive oil, chili flakes and fresh coriander
I was first introduced to hummus by one of Mohit’s bua (aunt)who lived in UAE for sometime. She got me a big container of the dip and I managed to finish it alone in a few hours of time. I was in love with the dip and always wanted to recreate it. She even gave me the recipe to make it, but unfortunately I don’t have it right now as we are traveling and it’s very difficult to carry all my collection. I surfed the net and decided on a recipe from http://www.sweetannas.com. I did a few changes to the original recipe and made my own Tahini from scratch. Hummus came out very good. It was way better than the store bought one.
Baba Ganoush is a Lebanese dish of aubergine mashed and mixed with virgin olive oil and other seasnings. Whether you know it as Mutabbal, Moutabal, caviar’d aubergines or baba ganoush, the smoky aubergine puree is a classic. Like its cousin Hummus, baba ganoush is readily available at a lot of grocery stores. But nothing can beat a home made stuff. It’s basically hummus in which chickpeas are replaced with smoked aubergine.
Neha's love for recipes is evident from this site. She is a food stylist, consultant and photographer. Connect with Neha to learn more. 
Mouthwatering !!
delicious combination looks wonderful
Irresistible pics & yummy dishes…
Pita bread and the dips look finger licking good.
what a mouth watering combo!!
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I am trying that pita bread.! Didn’t know it was so easy.. They have a perfect pocket!
Never tried…definitely will gve a try…
looks fab…
thanks for sharing…
Very well written and well presented. I recently had Baba Ganoush (Mutabbal) in a Lebanese restaurant and I loved it absolutely. Thanks for the recipe. Will surely give it a try. Impressive clicks too!! 🙂
wow..ur pita looks so perfect and the dips are awesome
Pita and hummus had been in my to do list for a long time.. Time to get it into my done list.. bookmarked your page for tips!!
Krithi’s Kitchen
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Lovely bread, puffed so well and perfect clicks!!
looks fabulous.. bookmarking it..
Looks perfect and lovely clicks.
looks delicious & pictures are perfect!! I am your new follower now…visit me @http://www.foodssrilanka.blogspot.com/
Beautiful clicks.. and those pita breads came out so perfect!
Richa @ Hobby And More Food Blog
Lovely clicks
I love hummus
Yum..both looks so wow..nice pics
Awesome pictures… I’m sure it tasted awesome too. Baba Ganoush has been on my list for a while now. I could try this recipe.
What a colourful dish! Love the presentation, dear!
I tried following you again,but it says I am already following….BTW just now I added my picture.Following you as Amy….(still I am catching features of blogspot)
Wow,lovely pics and great recipes.I live in the UAE and love the combinations…
ur pita breads look perfect…I love these dips n this combo a lot
Fantastic cliks!!!And this makes a delicious & memorable lebanese meal!!
Prathima Rao
Prats Corner
Lovely and same pinch. I to tried pita bread last weekend. 🙂 but I prepared for orange and carrot salad. I love this hummus and will try next time for sure when I prepare pita.
Cheers,
Uma
Tasted this in restaurants but never tried on my own at home. nicely done
wow, lovely clicks and recipes dear..just awesome..
you really wowed me Neha…awesome cliks..:P
wow…yummmy…yummmy..!
Tasty Appetite
beautiful clicks!! i never new dat pita breads can be made so easily at home…wow glad to follow you!!!
Wow! You are a brilliant baker, your pittas are baked to perfection and the dips are amazing. Very well presented, I’m totally loving this.
Awesome Recipe dear.Luv this hummus with a variation.
First time here – loving the post. I love Middle Eastern food and your dips look delicious.
This is brilliant Neha, I am way impressed with how puffy the pittas turned out and your hoummous looks delicious! It’s a favourite in our household, I will try your recipe next time, thanx for sharing:-)
Nice n fluffy pita..looks very tempting..mmmmm…wonderful pics with my fav dips…
U seem to b a pro in whatever u post…thumps up…keep rocking girl…
Hugs
Sanyukta
http://creativesanyukta.blogspot.com/
hey.. bhabhi!!
mumma saying thnx 4 mentioning her name..
n giving her recipe a re creation 🙂
looks wonderful !! love the hummus. the bread looks great too. im yet to try making hummus
I do make the dips very often, but am surely going to try out the pita bread.
My kids really the Khubz that they used to have with these dips when they were in U A E.
I add a little yogurt and about half the quantity of Lemon to my dips.
love hummus..will try your recipe this week..hope it comes out well like yours 🙂