Dukkah

 

 

Blender Alert 

 

Before Marmite was invented, people were possibly more creative with their bread consumption!
 

Dukkah is a mix of nuts, seeds and spices, from Egypt, used in conjunction with olive oil to spice up the daily loaf. It’s also wonderful in salads or used as a seasoning/crusty coating with cooked vegetables, sprinkled over popcorn or anything else that grabs your imagination.  What follows is a simple and inexpensive take on dukkah - others add pistachios or other nuts and additional spices, but this recipe tastes very good as it is.
 

Makes about 3/4 cup

Ingredients
 
2 tbsp hazelnuts
2 tbsp sesame seeds
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1/2 tsp black peppercorns 
1/4 tsp salt

 

Method:

• Toast the hazelnuts, sesame seeds, cumin, coriander and peppercorns until the skin starts to split and flake on the hazelnuts.
• Take the pan off the heat and let everything cool down.
• Add the salt and grind the mixture roughly.  You want to end up with a very coarse texture, nut much smaller than the sesame seeds.
• When the mixture is cooled, put it into a glass jar with a good lid.  It will keep for several weeks. 

To use dukkah, put about a teaspoon at a time into a small bowl and serve alongside a similar-sized bowl of the best olive oil you can afford (although decent supermarkets offerings are often acceptable).    Dip home-made, or good quality artisan bread in the oil and then the dukkah.
 
Be prepared to add more: it's addictive!
    

Notes:

• If you're mixing a greater quantity, it's worth toasting and grinding the hazelnuts first so that (a) they don't get caught under the blades and (b) the rest of the ingredients don't end up as a powder.
• If you're roasting everything in the little frying pan you use for spices, it may be worth roasting first the hazelnuts, then the coriander seeds and finally the cumin, sesame seeds and peppercorns.  Sesame seeds burn very easily and you don't want them to catch, while you're waiting for the nuts and coriander to be thoroughly browned.  Roasting the hazelnuts adds dramatically to their flavour, so it's worth taking care over. 

You will find many more recipes like this here and here

 

Carrot chutney

Blender Alert

This is another Indian chutney, that most of us would not recognise as such, and while it may sound unpromising, it’s very good. Like the peanut chutney, it also makes a very useful spread or dip, particularly with lentil flatbreads. The tempering adds a bit more spice and an interesting appearance. If you’re serving it with bread, or crackers, along with other ‛charcuterie’, you might prefer it without. It will still be both an unusual and pleasant addition.

Makes a good cupful

1 tbsp (coconut) oil (divided) 

2 tsp chana dal OR roasted peanuts

1 tsp urad dal OR sesame seeds

2 dried red chillies (adjust to taste)

1/2 garlic paste

1/2 tsp ginger paste

1 green chilli (adjust to taste)

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1 cup carrots (chopped, 200 grams)

1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp turmeric

1 to 2 tsp lemon juice OR tamarind paste

Optional Tempering

1 tsp (coconut) oil

1/4 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1/4 tsp chilli flakes

1/4 tsp garlic paste

1 pinch hing (asafoetida)

Method

• Pour 1 teaspoon oil to a hot pan. Add chana dal, urad dal and red chillies to the hot oil and fry until the dal turns light golden.
• Add garlic, ginger and green chillies. Fry until the dal turns deep golden to light brown. Add cumin seeds, stir and remove all of the fried ingredients to a plate.
• To the same pan, pour 2 teaspoons oil. Add carrots, salt and turmeric. Stir fry on a medium high heat for 3 to 4 minutes until fragrant. Covered and cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until tender. Turn off the heat and cool.
• Add the cooled dal, ginger, garlic, chillies and cumin to a blender and make a slightly coarse powder.
• Add the cooked carrots and tamarind paste/lemon juice. Pour in 1/4 cup water. Blend to a smooth or coarse chutney to suit your liking, scraping the sides as you go.
• Taste and add more salt if you think it needs it.
• Adjust the consistency to suit with more water, if you want to.

To temper (optional)

• Heat oil in a pan. Add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, chilli flakes and garlic paste. Fry until the cumin seeds have changed colour and the spices smell fragrant. Add hing and turn off.
• Pour the tempering over the carrot chutney.

Notes:

• Leave out the hing for GF.
• Chana dal and urad dal are added for flavour and taste. However, for a change, you can use roasted, skinned peanuts and white sesame seeds. Both work well but the chutney tastes different. Most of us have salted peanuts on board and these can be used, but in that case, add the salt after you’ve blended the chutney so as not to over-salt it.
• You could make this without a blender, if you used peanuts and sesame seeds and either chopped the peanuts, or ground both in a Mouli. The other ingredients would need to be cooked until they were very soft and you might want to use a little cayenne pepper and ground cumin instead of the whole spices. This would end up a little more chunky, but none the worse for that.
• Use young juicy carrots and not old, tough ones. If they need peeling, rather than scrubbing, they won’t go well in this chutney. 
• Ginger and garlic: I love both, but you can skip one of them if you prefer. The chutney is quite delicately flavoured, so follow the recipe and don’t use too much.
• Chillies: Dried chillies add pungent flavours and heat while the fresh green chillies add heat. You can use one or the other, if you prefer. I use green chillies in brine due to the insane expense of fresh ones (in New Zealand).