Who does not like tasting dukkah?! I am fascinated by the balance of exotic and aromatic herbs, spices, nuts and seeds that are used in these delicious concoctions. So what is dukkah and where did it originate from? This is my question. My guess would be Morocco or some far off land, a little more mysterious than my homeland. With some research I am told that it is of Egyptian origin. Dukkah is an Egyptian Arabic word which means to crush or pound, which is literally how you prepare it and this releases it’s wonderful aromatics. It was a peasant food and they dipped flatbread in olive oil then into the dukkah. All I can say is this is the goods.
My pantry is full of all the goodies that you need to make a sweet version even though the traditional dukkah is savoury. I set to work hand grinding my nuts and raw cacao with a traditional mortar and pestle. You can use a food processor or grinder but I prefer the old fashioned way as it reminds me of my granny. She would spend hours making chilli macadamia sambal. It was a labour of love and each jar was coveted by it’s recipient. The process is also therapeutic for someone like me who thinks too much. I mean really, all I need to do is to make sure the nuts are evenly ground and I can assure you I won’t lose sleep over that!
It is a delicate process of getting the balance just right because I don’t want the flavours to compete with each other. I want them to be harmonious. My dining room table is covered in jars as I add a little more of this and a lot more of that – much like a science experiment. My aim is to delight the tastebuds not cause an explosion! This ‘experiment’ turned out to be the perfect sweet dukkah recipe so I have decided to bottle it and sell it in my etsy store and at local markets. You can buy it here.
In all things beautiful,
Lyn xx