Dukkah (or duqqa) is an Egyptian dish, into which one might dip bread, which generally contains a mixture of nuts, spices and occasionally herbs. For instance, my recipe contains hazelnuts, which tends to be the norm for this side-dish. However, other potential nuts that will quite happily take their place in dukkah include, but are not limited to, pistachios and cashews. Indeed, almost any nut will work well here.
Since dukkah is supremely flavourful, necessitates very little preparation and takes a surprisingly long time to disappear, even with a number of people clawing at it at once, it is perfectly suited to gatherings and dinner parties. Of course, these characteristics also make it a very effective frugal dish, a very rare trait where nuts are concerned. Still, I guess that’s the current point of my existence – to prove that one can eat well on a budget!