Egyptian Dukkah - An Interesting Dip

If you love nuts, seeds, and Middle Eastern spices, Dukkah may well become one of your new favorite dips. Eaten with bread (gluten-free) and olive oil, dukkah is a popular Egyptian favorite. Dip you bread in olive oil and then dip it into the Dukkah! Yum!

You can also add dukkah to salads, sprinkle it on vegetables, add it to rice or quinoa dishes. 

Dip the bread into the oil and then into the dukkah nut and spice blend.

The concept of dipping crusty bread in olive oil with herbs and spices is common in authentic Italian restaurants. Dukkah is the same idea but the herbs and spices are Middle Eastern tasting instead of Italian.

This is a toasted mixture. It becomes more golden and darker. 

As most of my readers know, my husband and his family are from Egypt. Dukkah or as they called it "Du-ah" was a family staple. They toasted the nuts and seeds and them pounded them with a mortar and pestle or used a grinder. This healthy blend was eaten with some pita bread or crusty bread and olive oil. After my mother-in-law came to the states, she only made it on special occasions as it was considered a "big" job.

I now make Dukkah in the food processor. It's not the same but it's close. The key is to toast the seeds and nuts first and pulse them in the food processor or  pound them with the mortar and pestle. 

Occasionally, I will make it with the mortar and pestle (I have a very small one) and it is fun to hear the sesame seeds pop and crunch releasing its oils into the mixture.  The aroma of dry toasting the nuts and seeds is heavenly. However, I'm not a fan of the taste of the toasted seeds, so I sometimes skip toasting them and just grind them in the food processor. You choose.

In addition to serving Dukkah as a dip, I also add it to recipes such as my delicious Moroccan Quinoa (link) which is a fast and easy recipe that is dusted with cumin, turmeric, cinnamon, pistachio nuts and optional Dukkah. It also tastes great over pasta. 

Traditionally Dukkah is made using hazelnuts but you can uses just about any nut and spice. I make from chopped almonds, chopped pistachio nuts, sesame seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds or anise seeds.

I make my own so I am sure it is gluten-free, but there are brands available in the markets that come in little jars or containers. 

If you do not have gluten-free concerns, Dukkah is sold for a reasonable price at Trader Joes where they sell their own brand that is basically almonds, seeds, and spices. It is not certified gluten-free but it doesn't contain anything made of gluten.

This is a great idea for an easy dip when you are entertaining. With Covid you might have to make each guest an individualized size portion- 

Ingredients: 

1/3 cup of almonds, chopped

1/3 cup of pistachio nuts, chopped

2 tablespoons of sesame seeds

1/4 teaspoon of cumin seed

1/4 teaspoon of fennel seed

pinch of salt

Directions: 

Dry roast all ingredients in a skillet for about 4 minutes, shaking the pan to prevent burning. When done, grind with a mortar and pestle or grind in the food processor. 

Notes: I prefer to make it without dry toasting the mixture. It's not authentic, but personally, I like it better. 

Need a Good Gluten-Free Bread Recipe?  

If you are looking for a crusty gluten-free bread recipe, Shirley at Gluten Free Easily (link) has an interesting round-up of all different types of gluten-free bread recipes.  You can find her wonderful collection at this link:  Top 20 Best Gluten-Free Bread Recipes (loaves) I saw quite a few crusty breads in her collection that would taste good with this dip!

 

Shared on Weekend Cooking at The Intrepid Reader where anyone can share a food related blogpost.. every Saturday!