Chickpea and pickled lime dip

Makes 1 large dip

2 cups dried chickpeas

1/2 cup freshly chopped coriander

1/2 cup freshly chopped mint leaves

6 garlic cloves, finely sliced, lightly fried in oil

2 tbsp pickled lime chutney (Asian section at your supermarket)

1 tsp ground cayenne pepper

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground sweet paprika

1 cup natural yogurt

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

Wash chickpeas and cover with water twice the quantity above chickpeas, cover and let stand overnight, drain. Combine chickpeas and roughly three litres of water in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for 2 hours or until very tender. Drain in a colander over a bowl and set aside. Place coriander, mint, garlic, pickled lime in a food processor and blend to a rough paste, spoon into large mixing bowl. Combine chickpeas, peppers, salt, dry spices, yogurt and lemon juice in a food processor and blend until smooth.

Fold the chickpea mixture into the herb, garlic and lime paste. You may want to place the mixture back into the processor in batches to ensure that all the ingredients are well combined.

Adjust the seasoning, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and tuck in with some grilled Lebanese flat bread from the barbecue.