I often say, following something my university professor said in class, "Variety is the Spice of Life". Can we mix it up and say, Spices give variety to life. I like that one. Living in the Western Cape in South Africa, we have various cultures that live next door to each other. One big culture that influences our food is the Cape Malay and Muslim communities. Sometimes you can smell the curries they are famous for in the streets if someone from that community lives close by. The neat thing about this is if you know where they buy their spices, you gain access to a variety that people from the supermarket will not have access to. In another post, I wrote about one of these spice shops, Atlas trading company. I mostly buy my seeds, nuts, and spices here.
In any case, in today's post, I want to introduce you to one of my favorite spice and nuts (and seed) blend: Dukkah. As I am not familiar with the history about it, neither is it a "big thing" in South Africa, I will rather write some musings about spices before I give you my method. This is such a simple blend with such versatility that everyone should have it. My brother made roasted potatoes for Christmas dinner and he sprinkled some dukkah on them. It is that versatile! Please read on to see how I make it, and how you can change this recipe to suit your palate! Without further ado, let us proceed.
Spices! So Many Spices: Some Musings
It is not long ago when spices were luxury items. Wars were fought over salt and spice routes. Today, we have access to so many spices for cheap that it is actually scary to think that people gave their lives and blood for the stuff we throw in food. Obviously, then it was a luxury item for the wealthy to flaunt. Now, some people claim it to have medicinal properties (which it does!) and some eat it for the health benefits. To me, it remains a method of cooking to "spice up" your life. Hailing from South Africa, where we have on the one side the Cape Malay and Muslims, and on the other side Durban Indians, we are used to having bold and flavorful dishes! (Let us also not forget African the spice heritage, like from Ethiopia!)
But this does not always resemble the options available at supermarkets. Profit dictates. The variety of spices available at the supermarket is dismal. As mentioned, I buy my spices from an independent spice shop. The variety is staggering. I only buy what I use (obviously) and I can fill two cupboards with my spices! I might have a slight problem:
Spices add variety to life! In any case, let us not go too deep into this topic. This is after all a foodie post! On to the recipe.
Dukkah Recipe and Method
As with many "recipes", I rather see it as methods for you to make your own. This is by no means an authentic version of dukkah. So please, experiment with what flavors you like!
Ingredients
You can add so much more, but this is my "go-to" ingredients:
- Fenugreek (seeds and ground)
- Cumin (seeds and ground)
- Coriander (seeds and ground)
- Black Pepper
- Black and White Sesame seeds
- Almonds
- Sunflower seeds
- Salt
Method
There are three steps in my method: heat the spices/nuts/seeds, crush, and mix.
Step 1: Heat the spices/nuts/seeds
Heating the whole spices enhances the flavor. It can burn really quickly, so use your nose to tell you when they have heated through! They will smell much more intense than usual.
I place the heated spices on a cooled-down plate so that they do not overheat.
I then proceed to lightly toast the nuts and seeds.
Again, use your nose to smell the nuts/seeds. Do not burn them, especially the sesame seeds. Toasted sesame seeds are really a game-changer, but burning them will leave a bitter and not pleasant taste to your spice mix.
Step 2: Crush the spices/nuts/seeds
I use a mortar and pestle to crush the whole spices and nuts. Leaving some of the nuts a bit more chunky is sometimes nice. It all depends on what you're using it for. Just add enough sesame seeds!
Step 3: Mix Everything
I add ground spices as well. I feel that the texture of already ground spices adds more "body" to the dukkah. As ground spices will lose some of their pungency, this can be used to your benefit! It adds a milder taste than the whole spices we just heated up and freshly ground.
I usually add ground fenugreek, cumin, and coriander. After struggling to get the recipe to my liking, I found that ground fenugreek does the trick! It is seriously one of the best spices in dukkah. It has a very subtle flavor and goes so well with the cumin.
Now you can mix everything together.
The smell in your kitchen will leave you hungry! Store it in an air-tight container and use it in a month to retain its beautiful taste.
Using Dukkah
I love to use dukkah with bread. Or, I love to dip my bread in either olive oil or aged balsamic vinegar and then dip it in dukkah. This is a win every time with people who have never had it. But another way to enjoy it is to make your own labneh (or buy some) and throw it over it with some olive oil. You can dip your bread in this then or eat it as is! I just love the cold labneh and dukkah spice mix with the olive oil. For breakfast or lunch, it is seriously a winner.
Please do try this recipe! I am not claiming this is the authentic version, neither do I claim that I know what I am doing. As a philosopher in the kitchen, I know that I know nothing! But this I know is seriously good, even though it is a contradiction. Philosophy jokes, in any case. All the images are mine, taken with an iPhone. The recipe is somewhat my own creation based on what I have done over the years and read online. Please tell me in the comments if you had some of this! How do you eat dukkah? Stay safe, and happy cooking.