Healthy Masabacha – Hummus Upgraded!

Masabacha (or msabbaha) is one of many hummus variations eaten across Lebanon, Jordan, Israel and neighbouring countries. Unlike its famous counterpart hummus, masabacha is made of lightly mashed whole chickpeas rather than fully crushed chickpeas.

The chickpeas are cooked in the liquid they were soaked in, and seasoned usually with cumin, parsley and lemon. Sometimes egg is added to the mix!

Like hummus, masabacha is often served as a dip with pitta bread.

While there are many different types of hummus with varying flavour profiles, we have put together a simple masabaha recipe using tinned chickpeas and all the familiar flavours of classic hummus: tahini, garlic and lemon.

We have chosen to top it with roasted cherry tomatoes. The sweet tart tomatoes really complement the creamy garlicky chickpeas, lending the dish an extra kick of flavour.

It’s an easy recipe to rustle up for a healthy lunch, brunch or snack!

Masabacha – healthy types of hummus

We make sure that all our recipes are full of healthy ingredients, and this msabbaha is no different.

Looking at the nutritional data for a serving of masabacha and flatbread shows you that this is the perfect healthy, weight loss friendly lunch.

While this is usually served as a middle eastern appetizer, our recipe provides you with a whole meal.

1 serving contains 477 calories. This is roughly the amount you should be aiming for in a meal, much less is probably too few.

When we run our vegetarian weight loss courses, we usually recommend a daily calorie intake of 1500kcal for the average woman, because that is enough to keep you in a slim calorie deficit while still being healthy and energised. For men we recommend about 1800kcal.

The nutritional nitty gritty

What’s more, we have optimised recipes like this one to be as filling as possible, so that you don’t get hungry between meals.

For example, this recipe contains plenty of protein – 14g per serving! Protein is important for many reasons, and protein is beneficial for weight loss in particular because it helps to produce satiety hormones and reduce the hunger hormone ghrelin.

We’ve also made sure that this dish contains almost only the ‘healthier’ type of fat – the unsaturated kind. Fat tends to get a bad rap in diet culture, but fats are actually a super important part of any healthy diet.

Unsaturated fats help lower the bad cholesterol in your blood and are also necessary for helping the body to absorb nutrients from food, particularly vitamin A, D and E.

Saturated fats and particularly trans fats increase cholesterol levels – these are the ones you want less of. That’s why our masabacha recipe contains only 4g of saturated fat and 12g of unsaturated fat

Chickpeas please!

Like most types of hummus, the basis of this lebanese dip is chickpeas, tahini and lemon.

We want to zoom in on those chickpeas, impressive legumes that they are! Chickpeas are a great source of protein and fibre, so we can thank them for the weight loss benefits of this recipe.

All that fibre means they may also help with digestion, as fibre increases the good bacteria in your gut. Having plenty of good bacteria can alleviate the symptoms of IBS/improve digestion overall.

There is also evidence that chickpeas can protect you against certain diseases, such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes.

If you want more of these little power balls in your life, check out our chickpea avocado salad or our spinach and chickpea bake!

But for now, enjoy tucking into some delicious hummus masabacha!

Healthy Masabacha

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5 from 2 votes

Love hummus? Try masabacha! Made with whole chickpeas and served with roasted tomatoes, this is not one to miss!

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Cuisine:Arabic, Middle East

Diet: dairy-free, egg-free, vegan

Prep Time:5 minutes minutes

Cook Time:20 minutes minutes

Total Time:25 minutes minutes

Servings:2 servings

Calories:502kcal

Author: Gabriella English

Equipment

• Saucepan
• Pan
• Mixing bowl

Ingredients

For the tomatoes

• 9 oz cherry tomatoes
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar (or pomegranate molasses)
• Salt and pepper to taste

For the Msabbaha

• 1 cup chickpeas, cooked
• 1 tsp cumin, ground
• ¼ tsp chili powder
• 3 tbsp tahini paste
• 1 clove garlic (crushed)
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1 tsp maple syrup (or honey)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 6 tbsp soy yogurt (to serve)
• 2 flatbreads (to serve)
• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast

US CustomaryMetric

Instructions

• Add the chickpeas to a saucepan with enough water to cover them. Add cumin and chili powder then bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes, reserving 3 tbsp of the cooking liquid.
  1 cup chickpeas, cooked, 1 tsp cumin, ground, ¼ tsp chili powder
• Meanwhile, set a pan to low-medium heat, add olive oil and fry the cherry tomatoes for 10 minutes. Half way in, drizzle in the balsamic vinegar /pomegranate molasses and season with salt and pepper. Stir occasionally. The tomatoes are done when softened and sticky.
  9 oz cherry tomatoes, 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar, Salt and pepper to taste, 1 tsp olive oil
• In a jug mix together the tahini, garlic, lemon juice, maple syrup (or honey) and the reserved cooking liquid. Season with salt and pepper and whisk together until smooth. Add a splash of cold water to loosen slightly more if you like.
  3 tbsp tahini paste, 1 clove garlic, 1 lemon, juiced, 1 tsp maple syrup, Salt and pepper to taste
• Drain the chickpeas then transfer to a mixing bowl. Roughly mash with the back of a spoon and then add the nutritional yeast and mix in. Then, stir through the tahini sauce. Taste and season with more salt and pepper and lemon juice if you like.
  1 tbsp nutritional yeast
  
• To serve, toast the flatbreads. Divide the masabacha between two bowls, top with the roasted tomatoes and serve with the toasted flatbreads and yogurt.
  2 flatbreads, 6 tbsp soy yogurt
  

NOTES

Make-ahead? Yes, absolutely.

Want more dips? We got ’em!

• Creamy and delicious Baba Ghanoush
• Refreshing Persian Cucumber Dip
• Everyone’s Favourite Classic Hummus
• Fresh and Citrussy Black Bean Dip
• Best of Both Avocado Hummus

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Healthy Masabacha

Amount per Serving

Calories

502

% Daily Value*

Fat

 

18

g

28

%

Saturated Fat

 

2

g

13

%

Polyunsaturated Fat

 

7

g

Monounsaturated Fat

 

7

g

Sodium

 

213

mg

9

%

Potassium

 

892

mg

25

%

Carbohydrates

 

72

g

24

%

Fiber

 

13

g

54

%

Sugar

 

17

g

19

%

Protein

 

20

g

40

%

Vitamin A

 

760

IU

15

%

Vitamin C

 

66

mg

80

%

Calcium

 

186

mg

19

%

Iron

 

7

mg

39

%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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