Dukkah Recipe

Selected headnotes: Egyptian street vendors sell small paper cones with the unique dukkah blend, along with strips of pita bread. Customers then dip the bread into the vendor's bowl of olive oil and then their dukkah.

1/2 cup hazelnuts
1/4 cup coriander seeds
3 tablespoons sesame seeds
2 tablespoons cumin seeds
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon dried mint leaves
1 teaspoon salt

Heat a heavy skillet over high heat, add the hazelnuts, and dry-toast until slightly browned and fragrant, being careful that they don't burn. Remove from the heat and cool completely. Repeat the procedure with each of the seeds and the peppercorns. Allow each of them to cool completely.

Place the nuts and seeds, along with the mint and salt, into a mortar and pound until the mixture is crushed. Or pulse in a food processor to a coarse consistency; do not allow the mixture to become a paste.

Store in an airtight container in a cool place for up to 1 month.

Yield: 1 cup.

from the Spicy Food Lover's Bible by Dave DeWitt & Nancy Gerlach (Harry N. Abrams, 2005) - reprinted with permission