Mint and red chilli hummus

We have a lot of home grown mint so wanted to try this recipe using some of it.

Ingredients:

Chickpeas      - 16 oz can
Red chillies     - 4-5 (depending on taste)
Mint               - 1 small cup
Garlic            - 2 cloves

Lemon           -  1
sesame seeds - 1 tbsp
Salt                - as per taste

Soak the red chillies in water just enough to cover them. Slice the garlic and toast them lightly.Toast the sesame seeds and powder them. Drain the chickpeas. Add it to the mint, toasted garlic and salt in a processor and grind them to a coarse paste. To this add the red chillies with the water and give a two or three pulses until the chillies blend with the chickpea paste. Finally add the sesame seed powder to this and grind them to a smooth paste.
Transfer to a bowl and squeeze the lemon juice and mix well. This goes well as a dip with pita chips/pita/chapathi/ naan or as a chutney for dosai/idli.

Tips:

1. You can use fresh chick peas instead of canned chick peas. Soak the fresh chickpeas overnight or for 12 hours  and steam cook it before using it for the hummus.
2. For a milder taste you could replace the red chillies with black pepper powder.
3. A lime could be used instead of the lemon.
4. If you prefer to have a non-garlic version of hummus just skip the garlic.