Greek Fava Dip

Fava is a Greek dip or puree made from Yellow Split Peas that I have been recently introduced to. I was reading up some recipes and food stories by Ottolenghi and boom, this one came up in my feeds. Dips always fascinate me, so I read up and I knew I had to try it. Boy, am I glad I did read up the recipe. This is like the poor cousin of the very popular Hummus, with almost similar ingredients. But the split peas that are used instead of the chickpeas make this dish absolutely golden. Trust me, this one is for keeps.

And it's summer in Delhi, so I will be experimenting more with Hummus too. Meanwhile, you can check out the classic hummus and the beetroot hummus. 

I have adapted Ottolenghi's recipe, but I could not find capers. So I eliminated that ingredient. It is anyway used as a topping. But I did reduce the amount of oil used.

Ingredients:

150 gm split yellow peas

2 tbsp olive oil + more for drizzling, and caramelized onion

2 onions

1 bay leaf

4-5 garlic pods

1/4 tsp turmeric

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp green leaves of spring onion, chopped

Method:

Put the yellow peas in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Once the water boils remove the white scum.

Now quarter one onion and add it to the peas, along with bay-leaf and turmeric. You can use a pressure cooker. Let the peas cook through but make sure it's not mushy.

Remove the bay leaf and strain. Keep the onions. 

Once the peas have cooled a little, blitz it in a blender with garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, and some salt.

Check the taste and adjust if needed. 

Add the green spring onions and mix it properly. 

Slice the other onion, and caramelize it to golden for topping.

Drizzle a little olive oil, top with the onion, and serve.

This is a great dip to have with salads, main course or even lavash and breads.