Hummus el Sham

Ingredients

Chickpeas

• 400 gdried chickpeas
• water, for soaking
• 1/2 teaspoonbicarbonate of soda
• 2.5 litreswater, for cooking

To flavour

• 2 teaspoonsground cumin
• 1 teaspoonsalt
• 1bay leaf
• 1cinnamon stick, optional

To serve in the cup

• juice of 2 lemons
• extra ground cumin
• chilli powder or shatta
• salt
• olive oil, optional
• chopped parsley, optional

Directions

1. Rinse the dried chickpeas thoroughly. Pick out any stones or shrivelled ones. Cover them with plenty of cold water. Add the bicarbonate of soda to the water.
2. Soak them for at least twelve hours. It also helps the skins loosen and float off. Drain the soaked chickpeas thoroughly. Rinse them well under running water. They should have doubled in size.
3. Put them in a large pot with the water. Add the bay leaf and the cinnamon. Bring the whole pot up to a boil.
4. Skim them off with a large spoon. Simmering them takes a long while. Cover the pot partly with a lid. Give them about ninety minutes. Top up with hot water only if it reduces too far. Seasoning the pot is done lightly.
5. Add the cumin and the salt near the end. Give them the last fifteen minutes. Keep it lightly seasoned overall. It should be a thin savoury broth.
6. Add hot water if it has gone too thick. Keeping it hot is entirely essential. Keep it over the lowest possible heat. It is served genuinely hot rather than warm.
7. Ladle broth and chickpeas into each cup. Squeeze lemon juice into each cup. Dust ground cumin over the top. Add chilli powder for those who want heat. Add salt to taste right at the end. It should be added generously.

Technique

• This is not the dip: hummus simply means chickpeas in Arabic and the dip is properly hummus bi tahina, while this is a hot chickpea drink and soup, a confusion that catches visitors constantly.
• The cooking liquid is the drink itself and is served together with the chickpeas in a cup, so it must not be thrown away; starch from the chickpeas thickens it as it cooks and gives the drink its body.
• The broth is seasoned in the cup rather than in the pot, with each customer choosing cumin, lemon, salt and chilli, which is why the pot itself is kept lightly seasoned.

Substitutions

• Tinned chickpeas can be used with stock in place of the cooking liquor, though the broth is thinner.
• The bicarbonate of soda can be left out, but the chickpeas then take much longer to soften.

Variations

• Some vendors add a drizzle of olive oil or chopped parsley.
• The amount of chilli is entirely up to the customer.
• It is sold only in the cold months and disappears in summer.

History

Sold from copper urns by street vendors in Cairo and Alexandria during the cold months, chickpeas and liquor served together.

Frequently asked questions

What is Hummus el Sham?

Hummus el Sham is a street food from Egypt: hot chickpea broth with cumin and lemon, drunk from a cup on winter streets. Sold from copper urns by street vendors in Cairo and Alexandria during the cold months, chickpeas and liquor served together.

How long does Hummus el Sham take to make?

Hummus el Sham takes 15 minutes plus overnight soaking of preparation and 2 hours of cooking. The recipe makes serves 6. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Hummus el Sham?

Yes, within limits. Tinned chickpeas can be used with stock in place of the cooking liquor, though the broth is thinner. The bicarbonate of soda can be left out, but the chickpeas then take much longer to soften.

What is the most important thing to get right in Hummus el Sham?

Put them in a large pot with the water. Add the bay leaf and the cinnamon. Bring the whole pot up to a boil.