Dukkah is one of those genius inventions, which, when you try it and learn what it is, makes you wonder how you could possibly not have thought of this food before. It’s so good, but it’s extremely straightforward: it’s just a blend of toasted nuts and spices. I think it’s originally an Egyptian thing, but I don’t actually know if there is an ‘original’ recipe. The dukkah I make tends to be a variation on the one in this post – containing almonds, sesame seeds, cumin, coriander, and dried thyme. But the variations are endless, so go ahead and try out your own favorite spice blend.
To make a dukkah, you need to roast or toast the nuts, and toast the spices (only things like cumin, peppercorns, no need to toast chili and thyme). Then you blend or grind it all together, season with salt, and then it’s finished. You can store it in an airtight container for a long time, at least a month without any loss of flavor as far as I can tell. And you can eat it with just about anything, from hummus to meat and fish. Although my favorite is just to dip a piece of crusty bread in some good olive oil, and then in dukkah.
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Dukkah
Ingredients
- 1/2 deciliter almonds
- 1/2 deciliter sesame seeds
- 1 tbsp coriander seeds
- 1/2 tbsp cumin seeds
- 1 tbsp pepper corns
- 1/2 tsp chili flakes
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
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Toast the almonds in a pan over medium-low heat for 7-10 minutes, or in the oven at 150 C (300 F) for 20-25 minutes. Leave to cool on a plate for 10 minutes or so.
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Toast the sesame seeds over low heat until they start to pop. Leave to cool on a plate for 5 minutes.
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Toast the coriander, cumin, and peppercorns over medium-low heat for a few minutes until they become fragrant. If you are using spices that differ a lot in size, you can toast them separately to ensure that the smaller ones don't burn before the larger ones are ready. Remove from heat and leave to cool for around 5 minutes.
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Put all the ingredients in a food processor or a coffee grinder (that has been cleaned of any coffee grounds), and pulse until you have a roughly ground mixture. If you prefer a finer, more uniform blend, keep pulsing until every seed has been processed.
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Store the mixture in an airtight container. Serve with bread and olive oil, hummus, meat, fish, roasted vegetables, etc.
