When Khalil Karawan buys his chickpeas, he does it not in grams or kilos, but in tonnes. It takes such elephantine quantities to keep up with the fierce demand at Abu Hassan, the renowned hummus empire started by his grandfather in the 1950s. The business has grown so much from its humble food cart origins that 27-year-old Khalil can now sell thousands of plates each day across three locations in the ancient district of Jaffa. And when I visit his Shivtei Israel Street outpost one Friday morning, I arrive at peak hour.
“Our way is special; no one knows how to make hummus like us,” Khalil says as crowded tables of people tuck into tahini-rich mouthfuls. “We start cooking the first batches at 4am, so they’re ready for when we open at 7am.” I run a chunk of pillowy bread through his creamy — hummus studded with whole chickpeas, flecked with parsley and paprika and glinting with lemon-hued oil. At Khalil’s insistence, I dress it with pickled chilli sauce, the final kick in a
