Dukkah

Flavour and aroma

nutty, toasty, savoury, crunchy. Nutty, toasty and savoury, with warm cumin and coriander.

Heat

No heat

Forms

chopped

How to use it

• dry roast · Spice roasting (dry-roasting) technique

  To make it, toast nuts in a dry pan or 180 °C oven until golden (8–10 minutes), then toast sesame, coriander and cumin separately for 1–3 minutes until fragrant. Cool everything before pounding.

• crush · Dry grinding technique

  Pound or pulse briefly to a coarse crumb; over-processing releases the oils and turns it into paste.

• use raw

  Serve with bread and olive oil, or scatter over eggs, salads, labneh and roast vegetables.

• With bread and olive oil as a snack or breakfast
• Sprinkled over eggs, labneh and hummus
• A crust for fish, chicken or lamb
• Scattered over roasted vegetables and salads

Identifying good quality

A coarse, sandy-crumbly mix with visible pieces of nut and whole sesame seeds. It should smell freshly toasted; a stale, paint-like smell means the nuts are rancid.

Origin and history

Origin: Egypt.. Grown and used: Traditional in Egypt; now also common in Australia, the UK and the US..

Dukkah, from the Arabic for 'to pound', is a coarse Egyptian mix of toasted nuts (often hazelnuts) with sesame, coriander, cumin, salt and pepper, eaten by dipping bread in olive oil and then in the mix. Family recipes vary; some use chickpeas or other nuts.

Commonly told; not firmly documented