Spice up your life with Dukkah!
We live in a world where every ingredient you could ever wish for is available to you at an arms reach. This has not always been the case, and despite this privilege, we still tend to stay away from exploring the deep flavours across the seas. I hope I can change your mind wit Dukkah!
Spices have been a blessing for us all in the world of cuisine. To obtain the luxuries of the spice world, western countries crossed oceans, fought wars for the spice trade connections, and used spices as forms of currency in trade. Now, with the easy access to the global free market, the improvements to the transportation of goods, and accessibility to anything our hearts desire, it’s hard to imagine the struggle faced in the past to get us where we are today. I cannot help but get inspired and honour all that suffered so that we can enjoy all the flavours of the world. Hence, I wish to share a fantastic spice combination with you, both easily obtained and surprisingly inexpensive for what it delivers. I welcome you to the world of Dukkah.
You know something is good when it beat the test of time
Dukkah, also commonly called Duqqa, Du’ah and Do’a, derives from the Arabic term ‘to pound’, and its origins can be traced back to ancient Egypt. Ancient Egyptians saw Dukkah as more than just a flavour bomb to their dishes and believed in its medical remedies to cure digestive problems and stomach pain and saw coriander as a symbol of love and passion, and cumin as a symbol of faithfulness. What made Dukkah special was its availability for all classes in the divided social class of ancient Egypt. Anyone from the poorest of peasants to the wealthiest of the elites used Dukkah as a staple for their diets. Even the Egyptian Pharaohs could not resist this flavourful combination. Today, Dukkah plays an essential part in Egyptian cuisine and has had its popularity spread across the continents. Commonly used in Australia and New Zealand to season mutton and has graced our screens on TV programmes like MasterChef and countless popular food blogs across the web.
My favourite Dukkah recipe
There are many different recipes for Dukkah online that change across regions and countries, so providing a particular recipe for the spice is near impossible. The possibilities are endless; however, the basis has stayed the same for millennia. A combination of nuts and seeds toasted to release their gorgeous aroma is blended, not too fine but not too chunky. A popular variety and my personal favourite are a mix that I found from Yotam Ottolenghi, a renowned middle eastern chef who has spread the love for spice across the world. His recipe is simple: Blanched hazelnuts, pine nuts, coriander seeds, black and white sesame seeds, dried oregano, cumin seeds, and paprika.
1) Begin by toasting two tablespoons of coriander seeds, one tablespoon of cumin seeds, and a tablespoon and a half of your mixed sesame seeds in a frying pan over a light flame. You do not want your ingredients to burn, but you do not want to have them in a cold pan; the spices need to release their aromas, or perfume, during the toasting process. You will know you’re doing a great job when your kitchen begins to fill with the fantastic smells of your spices. This shouldn’t take longer than a couple of minutes.
(Tip) Every now and again, shake the pan to mix your seeds together. This will allow the ingredients to toast evenly and mix together.
2) Now you have a choice: you could buy already toasted hazelnuts or toast them yourself. I prefer to toast them myself as it gives you a base product that you can use in other dishes, but pre-roasted ones are great also. To toast your hazelnuts, preheat your oven to 175˚C (350˚F) and place your hazelnuts on a baking tray. Place your hazelnuts in the oven for 10-15 minutes until lightly coloured, and the skins begin to blister.
Once done, wrap them in a kitchen towel and let them steam for 1 minute. You can rub the towel to remove the skins and wait until cooled. Do not worry about all the skins coming off; I enjoy a little skin on my hazelnuts and will add a pleasant earthy taste to your Dukkah.
(Tip) Make sure your hazelnuts are evenly spread across the baking tray so that they toast evenly. An overcrowded baking tray will not toast the bottom hazelnuts well.
The same applies to your pine nuts. Store-bought pine nuts are great and easy to get, but if you’d like to go a little extra, buy fresh pine nuts and toast them yourself. To toast your pine nuts, place them in a frying pan and toast for 3-5 minutes over medium heat. Do not leave their side as they can burn very quickly. Once they turn golden, take them off the heat, and you’re done! It really isn’t rocket science.
3) Now that you have all of your toasted ingredients ready, it's time to mix the spices together. Ideally, you’d want to use a food processor, but a standard blender will do well. If you’d like to go old school, use a mortar and pestle to grind your herbs. This will give you time to decide how finely you’d like your ingredients and what level of crunch you like.
Begin by placing your toasted hazelnuts, pine nuts and all of your toasted spices from the pan that we toasted in step 1 into your chosen mixer. Alongside the toasted ingredients, add a teaspoon of dried oregano and half a teaspoon of paprika. Top it off with a pinch of salt, and you’re ready to mix! If you are working with a food processor, use the pulse function to have more control over how the final product will be. Some of you will like it fine, others may prefer more of a crunch. It’s the classic peanut butter argument over which is better: smooth or crunchy.
(Tip) taste your Dukkah along the process and see what level of crunch you like. Explore your taste and find the texture you love best!
4) Store your Dukkah in a glass jar for later use! You can keep it aside for 1-2 weeks without it spoiling. Trust me, you will love it so much it will barely last 3 days!
What to eat Dukkah with?
Here’s the magic of Dukkah; it goes well with such a wide range of foods. A simple pitta bread dipped in olive oil, and Dukkah is phenomenal and is the most traditional way of eating this spice mix. Place a tub of hummus on the side with some raw vegetables, and you have yourself the ultimate late-night snack.
You can also spice your feta cheese by wrapping a good amount of feta with Dukkah sprinkled over it, wrapped in tin foil and frilled in the oven for 10-15 minutes. Sprinkle some chopped mint over the finished product and add to any salad or use it as the perfect light side dish.
For vegetarians and vegans, Dukkah is the secret key to any salad or bread. If you enjoy making your own bread, sprinkle some Dukkah on top of your dough, or even mix a little into the mixture, and watch your bland loaf become the favourite of any dinner party.
On the other hand, for you that enjoy eating meat, Dukkah makes a fantastic addition to any breading for fish and chicken. Simply mix the Dukkah with your breadcrumbs before dipping your meat into a seasoned egg wash. Then covering your egged protein with your Dukkah breadcrumb mixture, and you’re ready to fry, over bake, or even toast over an open fire. The possibilities are endless, and the flavour captures any dish, for any occasion, at any time of the day.
And that is all; simplicity at its finest! I hope that Dukkah will only be the beginning of your journey through the flavours of the world, and I am sure to bring you more exotic recipes in the future. Cooking should never be a chore, and your diet should limit itself to fast food and processed goods. Once you realise how easy it is to create great food, and even better if accompanied by family and friends, you will see yourself turn from arranging restaurant meals to hosting dinner parties. Not only that, but you will save a pretty penny along the way!
There is something special about receiving a heart-felt compliment for your dishes, and Dukkah will have your friends and family asking you how you became a master of flavour. What they don’t know is that with a bit of patience, care, and love, you can create flavours you cannot buy at the supermarket. The best flavour comes from home and the heart, not from a seasoning packet.
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