Eat Your Feelings!

Passport & Plate - Spicy Sri Lankan Hummus Stuffed Peppers

Sri Lanka | Friday, March 14, 2014 | 5 photos

• 2 large red peppers
• 2 heaped cups of boiled chickpeas (aka. Garbanzo; may substitute with canned variety)
• 10-12 dried red chilies cut into 1cm pieces with seeds
• 1 Tbsp. whole mustard seeds
• ¼ heaped cup of grated fresh coconut (can substitute with ¼ cup of thick coconut milk)
• Hand full of curry leaves (omit if difficult to find – usually available at Indian stores)
• 2 medium sized onions sliced • 1 bulb of garlic (about 8-10 cloves) sliced
• Heavy pinch of table salt
• ½ cup + 2 Tbsps. of clear vegetable oil (canola recommended)
• Optional – 100g of butter


How to prepare this recipe:

If you are starting with raw chickpeas, you would need to soak them overnight for about 12 hours. Strain and place in boiling water (double the volume of water to the chickpeas as the chickpeas will expand and water will evaporate). Immediately cover and lower the heat to bring the water to a simmer and cook for 1 hour. If you are using the canned variety make sure to strain out all the liquid.

Start with 2 tablespoons of oil in a saucepan over a medium flame. Once the oil has heated add the onions. When the onions begin to caramelize add the garlic, curry leaves, coconut (if using coconut milk, mix in after all the other ingredients have been added) and mustard seeds and continue to cook until the onions turn dark. Add the chickpeas and finally the chillie pieces with the pinch of salt.

You would need a hand-mixer or a food processor for the next step. Grind up the mixture until all the elements are mixed together. Note that the mix will be quite dry at this point. Simply add in the ½ cup of oil and mix again until the mixture resembles a paste. Adding the recommended 100g of butter would make this dish simply irresistible but avoid it if you want to keep your dish vegan. Bear in mind that the mix will be coarser, darker and less moist than traditional hummus. Add more butter or oil to get a softer texture if preferred.

Next proceed to char your peppers over an open flame on your stove. Slice in half starting at the stem as shown in the pictures above. Rub lightly with salt and stuff with the hummus. Scarf it down.

Note – You may also use the mix as a party dip, sandwich spread, or add some binding agents such as flour and egg before shaping the mixture into patties and pan frying them or baking in them in the oven to make delicious veggie burgers!



The story behind this recipe:

Since I was a little boy I had never followed a recipe; mainly because I’m a bit of a rebel and hate to be told what to do. Instead I have learned things by watching others and picking up fragments that have resonated with me. The kitchen is a place I feel liberated and able to bring forth a part of myself that I can’t express through words. You can only taste such passion and love.

Speaking of love, this dish embodies and signifies the love I had for a boy in Turkey; my partner of four years. I have never loved anyone with such intensity, and this dish is a testament to that love.

Hummus is a staple as you may know in Turkey, and what I have done is to take out two primary ingredients; the tahini and the lemon juice and infused it with the earthy and fiery flavors that are close to my Sri Lankan spirit. The smoky sweetness of the charred pepper I have stuffed reminds me of his caring sweetness, whilst the hummus reminds me of his history. There is also a huge part of myself in this dish as well. The preparation of the chickpeas is a very traditional Sri Lankan method that I grew up with. Chickpeas are a typical breakfast food that we Sri Lankans have probably eaten for centuries. However this dish had never evolved beyond just stir fried chickpeas. I have had the good fortune to be privy to different cooking techniques during my travels around the world (Turkey, US, Australia, Thailand, India and Singapore). I have learned to look beyond the traditional and push its boundaries and also fuse it with various global cuisines. (You can see a few pictorial examples on my café page https://www.facebook.com/cafeeklektik/photos_albums)

So my Hummus recipe is a good example of my general cooking style. Feelings and moments are captured and recreated from my past on to a plate. Flavors and smells that remind me of people and places I have cared for live in every recipe I invent. This is why I am passionate about what I do. It is my very soul you taste.