Toum, The Middle Eastern Garlic Sauce

If you are a fan of middle eastern cuisine you might already be familiar with Toum or Toom. If you are not, it’s the strongly flavored garlic sauce that is usually served with shish tawook. Toum literally means garlic in Arabic. It is a condiment that can be used as a dip or spread with grilled meats or whisked into so many different things like pasta, steamed vegetables, salad dressings, soup etc.

This sauce is traditionally made by pounding the garlic cloves and oil with a mortar and pestle or food processor. It’s similar to aioli or mayonnaise but made without eggs. Some recipes do call for a raw egg white, potatoes,  bread to be included in the toum, but none of the traditional middle eastern recipes say so. The recipe you see here is one I learned from my Goan friend who learned to make it from her Lebanese husband.

It is pretty easy to make but there are some points to look out for. Firstly make sure you use fresh garlic .The frozen stuff won’t work here.  Also make sure the bulbs are firm with tight skin and are not sprouting green shoots. Pulverize the garlic with salt and little chilled water. Next you add the lemon juice and oil in thin stream to emulsify. The key is to constantly keep on blending while alternately adding the oil and lemon in order to get the right consistency.  If you don’t do this part right, your whole mixture will separate. I made this sauce in a vitamix  because my food processor does not crush garlic to a smooth paste. But in order to process the garlic properly in vitamix it requires at least 1 cup. A 64 oz jar is not meant for small quantity. If you want to make half the recipe then crush the garlic separately with a mortar and pestle or with a garlic crusher before adding it to the blender jar or a food processor.

However, the great thing about this garlic sauce is that it keeps for quite a few weeks in the fridge and a little goes a long way. I used 2 cups of oil for 1 cup of garlic. If you find the sauce too sharp, continue adding more oil and lemon juice until it reaches your desired taste. You can add up to 4- 5 cups. When I use this as a spread in wraps I mix it with hummus or tahini.

Just before I go I want to mention that you need a good rinse of mouthwash after eating this sauce or try one of these:  Fennel seeds, green cardamom, paan masala. They are good mouth fresheners and are often served after an Indian meal.

I am taking this Vegan mayonaise to #cookblogshare hosted by Jacqui at Recipes made easy.  And also to Corina’s Linky Cook once eat twice and Emily Leary Linky Recipe of the week.