School lunch box - Day 4 and my recipe for hummus

Today, the little girl wanted to have food from the school canteen for one of her breaks. The canteen serves healthy, fresh, unprocessed food in keeping with the school's idea of promoting healthy eating habits in children. So, today's lunch box has only what she took for her 1st and 3rd breaks.

Breakfast break - Rava idli
Snack break - Carrot sticks with hummus

Hummus is a delectable, creamy spread which is the Middle East's gift to the rest of the world. I am in love with this spread and so is the little girl. She loves to eat it with carrot sticks. Rich in protein and with a subtle and delicate flavour, this is likely to be a hit with most kids. Needless to say, it is easy to make, generous to a fault and keeps well in the refrigerator for a few days.
 
To make hummus, you need:
Chick peas/kabuli chana - 1 cup, soaked in plenty of water overnight.
Garlic - 3 or 4 pods
White sesame seeds - 1 tbsp
Thick yogurt - 1/4 cup
Sesame oil - 2 tsp
Olive oil
Salt - to taste
Juice of one lemon

Cook the chick peas until very soft and tender. Drain off excess water and let it cool. Do not throw away the excess water. You can use it to grind the hummus.
In a dry blender jar, blend the sesame seeds and sesame oil to a paste. Add in the thick yogurt and blend again. Add the cooked chick peas, garlic, salt and lemon juice. Blend, adding the reserved water, if necessary, until you get a thick, creamy, smooth paste of spreadable consistency. Remove onto your serving bowl. Add a generous glug of olive oil. Mix well and serve as a dip with vegetable sticks or as a spread for different breads.

Spring Onion Chutney

Most of the weekends over the last few months have been spent travelling. So much so that I've come to think of the railway station as a home away from home. It also means that I usually try and use up anything that is likely to spoil if left in the refrigerator over the weekend.

A bunch of spring onions + an upcoming weekend trip = this recipe.

What you need:
Spring onions - 1 bunch, chopped (the greens can also be chopped)
Red chilli - 2
Oil - 1 tsp
Tamarind - a gooseberry sized piece, soaked for 10 minutes in just enough water to cover it
Urad dal - 3 tsp
Salt

Heat the oil, urad dal and chillies in a microwaveable bowl for 2 minutes or until the dal turns reddish brown. Stir in the chopped spring onions. Heat for another 4 minutes or until the onions are browned.
Let it cool. Blend coarsely along with the tamarind and salt.
Heat a tsp of oil in a pan. Season with some mustard seeds. When the seeds pop, pour it over the chutney.
Enjoy with dosas or as a dip.

This chutney goes to Valli's potluck and to Culinarty's Original Recipe Round-up.