Dukkah is an old Egyptian specialty. It is a loose blend of nuts and spices in a dry, crushed but not to a powdered form. The name “Dukkah” is derived from the Arabic word “to pound” referring to how all the spices are pounded together to prepare the dish. It is a very personal and individual mixture that varies from one family to another.
In Egypt it is served at breakfast time, as an appetiser, or as a snack in the evening. It is used as a dip and eaten along with Egyptian flatbread or raw vegetables, such as tomatoes or cucumber, as an hors d’oeuvre or side dish.
We serve it with extra virgin olive oil, accompanied by crudités; it is delicious with a good, fresh sour dough bread, sprinkled over pan-fried scallops, added to a salad and to encrust roast pumpkin or lamb, fish, pork fillets, or chicken.
This recipe is my Cooking on the Bay version. Once you have made it a few times, adjust the ingredients and quantities according to your personal taste.
140g macadamia nuts
100g almonds
100g hazelnuts
100g pistachios
60g pine nuts
150g pumpkin seeds
120g sesame seeds
2 tbsp cumin seeds
2 tbsp coriander seeds
2 tbsp fennel seeds
2 tsp dried chilli flakes
1 tbsp sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
In a dry pan, lightly toast all the ingredients separately, with the exception of the chilli, salt and pepper.
Put the macadamias, almonds, hazelnuts and pistacchios in the food processor and blitz until coarsely chopped; then add the remaining ingredients together and blitz again, esuring you keep the coarse texture.Do not to over chop or blitz as they will get too powdery and some of the nuts will release their oils. Add generous amounts of sea salt and ground black pepper – it is very important to taste as you go when adding the salt and pepper. You will find it takes quite a lot of salt.
Store in an airtight jar for up to a week; for longer storage keep in the freezer.
Other additions you may like to include could be:
Nuts: walnuts or pecans
Spices: paprika or lemon myrtle
