Cracker pot

Charcoal crackers topped with sumac spiced chickpeas and Turkish cacik

Gourmet food stores make my heart melt. The reaction at spotting one is similar to what shopaholics experience at the sight of the word ‘sale’. I rush inside and grab a whole lot of things I know nothing about.

At a recent trip, I bagged a box of charcoal crackers. The way dill crackers are laced with dill and chive with chives, these are flavoured with a small percentage of charcoal powder.

The salty, slim sheets are stark black in colour and have a carbony bite.  Their texture is similar to a pie shell – brittle and crumbly.

Though the crackers went miraculously well with blobs of brie, I couldn’t resist this little adventure.

Ingredients for sumac spiced chickpeas

1 cup chick peas (boiled)

1 tablespoon olive oil

½ tablespoon sumac spice

1 teaspoon dry thyme

1 teaspoon dry rosemary

1 teaspoon dry fennel

1 teaspoon dry basil

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon dry parsley

2 teaspoon pepper powder

Method:

In a blender, mix all the ingredients together (except chickpeas and olive oil) and grind it into a course powder.

To make the topping, mix the above mixture with olive oil and add boiled chickpeas to it.

Ingredients for Turkish cacik

1 cucumber (peeled and finely grated)

½ teaspoon olive oil

½ cup thick yogurt (chilled)

2 garlic cloves (minced)

Salt to taste

Method:

In a bowl, mix all the ingredients together and refrigerate them until use.

To serve: Top the charcoal crackers with the spiced chickpeas and cacik. Garnish with coriander stalk and serve.