Hummus is a popular vegetarian dip that is typically served as part of Mediterranean cuisine around the globe. The dip is made from boiled mashed chickpeas and is flavoured with tahini paste (made from ground, roasted sesame seeds), olive oil and garlic powder, and finally lemon juice. Hummus has been popularised as a healthy and nutritious dip that can also be easily prepared at home in a jiffy. The dip can be served with chips, crisps, lavash (a flatbread that is available in both soft and crisp forms) and of course, the most popular one is pita bread. Hummus is simple yet delicious and it can even double up as sandwich spread. You can make your hummus as nutritious as you want by adding a number of vegetables to it. Actor Shilpa Shetty Kundra, who is an expert in cooking healthy food and is a fitness icon, recently, shared a video of an interesting variation of the hummus. The recipe video was that of green moong hummus- a dip made in the style of the Middle Eastern dip but along with chickpeas, Shetty also used sabut moong or whole green moong. This lentil is also known as chhilke waali moong dal. The recipe starts with boiling and soaking chickpeas and the lentils and then grinding them together with whole garlic pods and the tahini sauce and olive oil. Once the ingredients are ground to a smooth paste you can add some more olive oil, lemon juice, and of course salt and optionally, some chilli powder.

The recipe is simple, but with the added fibre and vitamin content of green moong. Chickpeas are considered one of the best sources of plant protein as well (a 100 gram of chickpeas contains 19 grams of protein). Both chickpeas and lentils are important sources of B-vitamins and are low in calories. Olive oil and tahini, despite being energy-dense, are considered healthy as they are sources of healthy fats.

The video says that this particular recipe of green moong hummus delivers 304 Kcal per serving, so you may want to exercise moderation if you are on a low-calorie diet. But this seems like a great idea to improve the nutritional content of regular hummus.

What else do you like to add to your hummus to make it healthier? Let us know in the comments section below!