A little ways back, I made these Indian-spiced Turkish style eggs, a fusion of sorts pairing çilbir — Turkish poached eggs over yogurt topped with chile-spiced butter — and an Indian smoky, eggplant-yogurt — baingan ka raita — topped with a tadka, spices tempered (i.e., briefly roasted in oil or ghee) to release their essential oils, which makes them more flavorful and aromatic.

That got me thinking…how would such Indian spices and herbs (curry leaves) infused in ghee taste drizzled over hummus, topped with an herbed yogurt? Answer: equally delicious — it’s got layers of flavor.

The bread I served with this hummus is just my basic pizza dough recipe with a few tablespoons of added sourdough discard. Have been experimenting with adding sourdough starter to baked goods instead of just discarding the starter. I rolled the dough thin and fried it in a hot skillet, until nicely browned on both sides.

These are curry leaves…I love when fresh curry leaves get a bit crispy after being sizzled in hot oil or ghee.

There’s a funny story about a curry tree — Going above and beyond for the love of a treasured curry tree — on Splendid Table, a favorite food podcast.

Whipped Hummus

makes about 2 cups
2 cups *cooked chickpeas [FYI, 1 cup dried chickpeas will yield approx. 3 cups cooked]
1 clove of garlic, chopped
1/2 cup tahini
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt to taste
Ice-cold water

For the chickpeas: soak dried chickpeas overnight. Drain. Add chickpeas to a large pot. Cover with water. Bring to a boil, decrease heat, cover and simmer until soft, but not mushy. Drain.

*For hummus, you want to cook the chickpeas a little longer than normal; they should be soft, but not mushy.

Place 2 cups cooked chickpeas and garlic in a food processor and puree until you have a thick paste. With the machine running, add the tahini, lemon juice, cumin and salt.

Slowly add ice-cold water, a tablespoon or two at a time, until the hummus is very smooth. I let the food processor run for a good 5 to 6 minutes, adding more ice-cold water a little at a time, until the hummus was light, airy and smooth. Taste and adjust with salt and lemon juice as needed.

Herbed Yogurt

½ cup yogurt
2 tablespoons chopped herbs (e.g., dill, chives, parsley)
Squeeze of half a lemon
1 clove of garlic, grated or smashed to a paste
salt and pepper

Mix all ingredients in a bowl until well combined.

Tadka

2 tablespoon ghee/clarified butter/oil
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
2-3 dried red chillies, more or less to taste
1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
A pinch of ground chile (such as deggi mirch) [optional]
A sprig of curry leaves 
1/4 teaspoon asafoetida powder
Sea salt to taste
A pinch of turmeric

Heat the oil over medium heat. When hot, add mustard seeds. As they begin to splutter and pop — this won’t take long, 30 seconds or so — add the red chiles, ginger and ground chile and sauté a minute or so.

Add the curry leaves, asafoetida and pinch of salt. Sauté another 30 to 60 seconds until the curry leaves are crispy. Turn off the heat and add the turmeric.

To Serve

Spoon hummus into a bowl and, with a spoon, make a shallow well in the middle. Add some yogurt. Pour the hot tadka over top. Serve with fresh pita/bread to scoop of the hummus.