The thing about dukkah (pronounced doo-kah) is that it’s seriously addictive. It’s basically a mix of toasted nuts, seeds, and spices that are pound together in a mortar and pestle to form an Egyptian spice mix that is magic. It’s equal parts nutty, earthy, fragrant, crumbly, and spicy; and takes any dish from meh to I-want-to-eat-this-everyday yum.
I prefer to make a large-ish batch of dukkah and have it on hand to sprinkle on everything, as it keeps well stored in a glass jar in the refrigerator for a few weeks. As for the ingredients, the recipe is just a guideline. There are no rules. Any toasted nuts and seeds that you have at home will work well, give or take a few spices. Hazelnuts, macadamias, pistachios, almonds, cashews, pepitas, sunflower seeds, sesame: all fair game. Don’t skimp on the salt though; flaky sea salt (like Maldon) just works so much better in this recipe than regular old table salt.
Traditionally, dukkah is served with olive oil and warm crusty bread as an evening snack or appetiser in the Middle East. Dunk a piece of torn bread in extra virgin olive oil, then dip it in dukkah…YUM. However, it’s so versatile that it can be used in a variety of ways. You can basically add it to anything that would do good with a little bit of texture or crunch.
Some serving suggestions:
Spoon dukkah over roasted veggies or crust pieces of meat or fish in it before cooking.
Sprinkle it on salads and grain bowls for additional crunch.
Make savoury oatmeal spiced with turmeric and a spoonful of ghee; top with dukkah.
Spoon it over poached or scrambled eggs.
Make avocado toast and sprinkle some dukkah on top; or smear labneh on toast and top with dukkah + honey (check out other toast ideas here).
Add it to soups for some textural interest, like to lentil or carrot soups along with a dollop of Greek yogurt.
Or you can keep it simple, and just spoon it on your favourite dips like hummus or labneh – like I did. I drizzled some olive oil over the labneh, and generously spooned the dukkah mix on top. This spiced dip tastes amazing when served alongside warm pita or crudités.
- 1 cup macadamia nuts
- ½ cup pistachios
- ½ cup cashews
- ⅓ cup pepitas
- 1-2 tablespoons white sesame seeds
- 1 tablespoon whole coriander seeds
- ½ tablespoon whole cumin
- ½ tablespoon whole fennel
- A few large pinches flaky sea salt (like Maldon)
- ½ tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- In a small dry pan, gently toast the macadamia nuts for a few minutes until slightly golden. Next add the pistachios, cashews and toast for a few more minutes. Finally, add the pepitas and sesame seeds and toast it for a minute more. Remove the nuts and seeds from the pan and keep aside to cool down.
- Next, dry toast the spices (coriander seeds, cumin, and fennel) until fragrant. Mix it with the nuts and seeds mixture.
- Let the mix cool down, and add in the sea salt, sugar, and paprika. You can also include additional spices and herbs like black pepper, dried cilantro, thyme, or sumac.
- Pound the mixture in a mortar and pestle; or give it a quick pulse in a food processor, stopping when the mixture is a coarse dry crumble.
- Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for upto 3 weeks.
Did you make this recipe?
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