Musabaha | Rustic Hummus Breakfast
Some time ago, I tried interval fasting and had to UNBELIEVABLY have lunch at 12 o’clock on the dot.
UN-BE-THERE!
Until then, I usually either annoyed my fellow men with my grumpiness or just stayed in bed for such an outrageously long time that I felt remorse and then sat at my desk with a growling stomach. Fortunately that’s over – fortunately you don’t have to go through with experiments. Two days are enough. In fact, I usually have breakfast a little later, but then I love a hearty meal. A bowl of hot chickpeas in tahini sauce is just the thing. The whole thing is called musabaha and is really nothing more than a very rustic, warm hummus.
Floating chickpeas?
In the Levant, there is real struggle when it comes to the perfect recipe for hummus. Every country and even every region in every country and every family in every region in every country has its own recipe. This recipe is then by definition and with letter and seal the absolute original. And woe betide anyone who claims otherwise – ouch!
Musabaha is very similar, but let’s start from the beginning. Musabaha is basically a rough or rustic form of hummus. Take chickpeas, tahini, garlic, lemon and cumin. These are the basic ingredients for hummus and also for musabaha. However, with musabaha, the chickpeas remain whole and are not maltreated with a hand blender. Chickpeas swimming in tahini sauce, so to speak.
And “floating” could even be the name of this divinely delicious dish. In Arabic, swimming means something like “musabah”. In Lebanon, of course, the U is always left out – then it is called M’sabah or M’sabaha. But there is another version to clarify the name. In Islam, there is the misbaha – a string of beads that are “counted” when praying. The chickpeas are therefore supposed to be reminiscent of these pearls.
Many roads lead to the delicious Musabaha!
In order to avoid a small war about the different ways of making Musabaha, I’d rather say right away: there are regional differences!
- There is the version where you make a kind of super runny hummus as a sauce and then mix whole chickpeas into it.
- Then there is the version with yoghurt & tahini as a sauce with whole chickpeas.
- In another variation, a tahini sauce is made and the chickpeas are bathed in it.
My mother favours the third variety. Personally, I like variety no. 4: I make a tahini sauce, press some of the chickpeas and then mix it with the rest of the chickpeas. This way you have a creamier sauce and several textures in your mouth.
But no matter which version you make, they are all super delicious! There is no right or wrong here.
Finally comes the perfect topping
No matter what kind of topping it should be for you: Plenty of good (!) olive oil is essential! Serve with pita bread.
Otherwise you are spoilt for choice! You can top your Musabaha with:
- Roasted pine nuts and dried mint
- Diced tomatoes
- Fresh parsley & mint
- Coriander
- Chilli flakes
- Paprika powder
- Breakfast egg
- Amba
- Zhug
Or you can simply put together a great mix. Musabaha is totally individual and always an absolutely delicious breakfast. The protein-rich chickpeas, the good fats of the tahini and olive oil are guaranteed to keep you full for a long time.
Even though Musabaha tastes good cold, I highly recommend enjoying it warm. But now, bon appétit!
Recipe for Musabaha
Ingredients
Musabaha
- 250 g Chickpeas (cooked)
- 50 ml Lemon juice approx.
- 1/2 Garlic clove
- 100 ml Water
- 70 g Tahini
- 1,5 TSP Cumin
- Salt To taste
- 4 TBSP Olive oil for drizzling or more
Toppings (suggestion, just put something together)
- Tomato
- Parsley
- Fresh mint
- Dried mint
- Pine nuts
- Egg (boiled)
- Paprika powder
- Chilli flakes
Zubereitung
Prepare Musabaha
- Boil the chickpeas including the liquid. (If you cook the chickpeas yourself, add water with a little salt until the chickpeas are covered).
- Peel the garlic clove and crush it with a little salt to a pulp.
- Add lemon juice (freshly squeezed) and cumin to the garlic.
- Add the tahini and water to the garlic.
- Mix everything together well until everything has become a homogeneous sauce.
- Strain the chickpeas. Add a third of the hot chickpeas to the sauce and press down very roughly, add the rest of the chickpeas and mix everything together and season with salt. Divide into bowls and garnish with olive oil and paprika powder.
Toppings for Musabaha
- The basic version is always covered with plenty of olive oil and garnished with some chopped parsley, mint and paprika powder.
- Musabaha can be topped with freshly chopped or dried herbs, diced tomatoes, roasted pine nuts and/or boiled eggs.
Serve Musabaha
- Serve Musabaha with fresh pita bread.
Notes
Nährwerte
If you like Musabaha, you’ll love Fuhl Meddammas!