Vegan Toumeh (Garlic Mayo)

Making vegan Mayo is not new to me. Still, I always wondered why the Middle eastern shawarma and grill restaurants have a light garlicky Mayo (thoumeh) which is typically served with chicken dishes such as shawarma, shish tawwouk, grilled or fried chicken. I have always prepared it with raw eggs, but I can still taste the eggs. So I asked the chef behind the counter at a take away who happened to be from Syria, :”what do you use to make it fluffy as I know it contains no egg?”, and so he explained that they don’t use egg but rather corn starch and vegetable oil. Immediately, I ran an experiment kitchen, trying different recipes and proportions, but I found too much fat is needed to reach a smooth consistency as it lacked protein which is provided by using eggs. So I decided to apply the method I use to make a vegan mayo by adding aqua fabada(boiled chickpea water) and this is how I managed a light, tasty and less calorific toumeh, I even prefer this to the restaurant-style toumeh.

Servings: 1

Yield: 500 ml

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

1/2 cup corn starch

3/4 cup water

1 teaspoon lemon juice

2 teaspoon vinegar

8 cloves garlic

½ cup + 2 tablespoons canola oil

8 tablespoons aqua fabada

1 teaspoon Himalayan salt

4 ice cubes

Method:

· Dissolve the corn starch with the water and cook the slurry on low heat until translucent and sticky. Leave to cool.

· Place it in the blender along with all the ingredients but for the oil.

· Slowly drizzle the oil through the top opening of the blender slowly and keep it on high for several minutes until thickened. Please read the notes below.

Notes:

· You can use an emersion blender or even a processor for the recipe.

· If your blender has no opening, then just blend all ingredients together.

· Add more vinegar, salt, garlic or lemon juice to your liking.

· Because of the protein and carbohydrates in the aqua fabada, it helps trap air and emulsifies the oil resulting in a light texture as if using eggs.

· Using aqua fabada means less oil is needed

· Adding ice assists with the emulsification.

· If the Thoumeh is too thick, add another cube of ice.

· Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 month.

Per Serving : 1454 Calories; 139g Fat (84.0% calories from fat); 6g Protein; 54g Carbohydrate; 8g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 2147mg Sodium.