{{short description|Egyptian condiment}}{{Redirect|Dukkah|the Buddhist concept|Duḥkha}}{{Infobox food | name = Duqqa | alternate_name = | image = Du'ah (dukkah) - Egyptian spice mix.JPG | image_size = 250px | caption = | country = Egypt | region = Egypt and Middle East | creator = | course = Side dish or hors d'œuvre | type = Dip | served = | main_ingredient = Herbs, nuts (usually hazelnut), spices | variations = | calories = | other = }}
'''Duqqa''', '''dukka''',<ref group="spelling">Also spelled: ''dakka, dukkah, dukka''</ref> '''du'ah''', '''do'a''',<ref name="roden2008">{{cite book|last1=Roden|first1=Claudia|title=The New Book of Middle Eastern Food|date=2008|publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group|isbn=9780307558565|page=55|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r723owliVz8C&q=claudia+roden%2C+dukkah&pg=PA55|access-date=2 July 2016}}</ref> or '''dukkah''' ({{Langx|ar|دُقَّة|translit=duqqa|lit=}}, {{IPA|arz|ˈdæʔʔæ}}, {{IPA|acw|dʊgga}}) is an Egyptian and Middle Eastern condiment consisting of a mixture of herbs, nuts (usually hazelnut), and spices. It is typically used as a dip with bread<ref>{{cite book|last1=Sortun|first1=Ana|title=Spice: Flavors of the Eastern Mediterranean|date=2013|publisher=HarperCollins|isbn=9780062336514|page=6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VTsFAgAAQBAJ&q=Ana+Sortun%2C+dukkah&pg=PA6|access-date=2 July 2016}}</ref> or fresh vegetables for an hors d'œuvre.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Malouf|first1=Greg and Lucy Malouf|title=Artichoke to Za'atar: Modern Middle Eastern Food|date=1999|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=9780520254138|page=278|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0j5c0GMrOdcC&q=dukkah&pg=PA278|access-date=2 July 2016}}</ref>
Pre-made versions of duqqa can be bought in the spice markets of Cairo, where they are sold in paper cones, with the simplest version being crushed mint, salt, and pepper.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Davidson|first1=Alan|title=The Oxford Companion to Food|date=1999|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|isbn=9780191040726|page=269|edition=2014|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bIIeBQAAQBAJ&q=landry%2C+dukkah%2C+1978&pg=PA269|access-date=2 July 2016}}</ref> The packaged variety that is found in markets is composed of parched wheat flour mixed with cumin and caraway.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Davidson|first1=Alan|title=The Oxford Companion to Food|date=1999|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|isbn=9780191040726|page=269|edition=2014|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bIIeBQAAQBAJ&q=landry%2C+dukkah%2C+1978&pg=PA269|access-date=2 July 2016}}</ref> In the Hejaz region, it has been part of the regional cuisine for decades.{{cn|date=April 2025}}
==Etymology== The word is derived from the Arabic for 'to pound'<ref>{{cite book|last1=Green|first1=Aliza|title=The Magic of Spice Blends: A Guide to the Art, Science, and Lore of Combining Flavors|date=2015|publisher=Quarry Books|isbn=9781631590740|page=34|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H3xsCwAAQBAJ&q=dukkah&pg=PA34|access-date=2 July 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Marks|first1=Gil|title=Encyclopedia of Jewish Food|date=2010|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt|isbn=9780544186316|pages=672 pages|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gFK_yx7Ps7cC&q=dukkah+popularity+in+america&pg=PT341|access-date=3 July 2016|ref=Dukkah}}</ref> since the mixture of spices and nuts is pounded together after being dry-roasted to a texture that is neither powdered nor paste-like.
==History==
Orientalist Edward William Lane's 1860 texts described ''dukkah'' as follows:<ref>{{cite book|last1=Lane|first1=Edward William|title=The manners & customs of the modern Egyptians|date=1908|publisher=J.M. Dent & Co.; E.P. Dutton & Co|location=London; New York|page=137|url=https://archive.org/stream/mannerscustomsm00lanegoog#page/n166/mode/2up|access-date=2 July 2016}}</ref><ref name="roden2008"/> <blockquote> A meal is often made by those who cannot afford luxuries of bread and a mixture called dukkah, which is commonly composed of salt and pepper with za’atar or wild marjoram or mint or cumin-seed, and with one or more, or all, of the following ingredients – namely, coriander seed, cinnamon, sesame, and hummus (or chick peas). Each mouthful of bread is dipped in this mixture" </blockquote>
In 1895, author Socrates Spiro described ''duqqa'' as "ground spices eaten with bread (by the poor){{sic}}" in his Egyptian Arabic to English dictionary.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Spiro |first1=Socrates |title=An Arabic-English Vocabulary of the Colloquial Arabic of Egypt: Containing the Vernacular Idioms and Expressions, Slang Phrases, Etc., Etc., Used by the Native Egyptians |date=1895 |publisher=Al-Mokattam printing office |page=275 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/An_Arabic_English_Vocabulary_of_the_Coll/L6oYAAAAIAAJ?gbpv=1&dq=cream&pg=PA275&printsec=frontcover |access-date=14 December 2025 |language=ar}}</ref>
==Ingredients== The actual composition of the spice mix can vary among families<ref name="roden2008"/> and vendors, though there are common ingredients such as sesame, coriander, cumin, salt and black pepper. A report from 1978<ref>{{cite book|last1=Davidson|first1=Alan|title=The Oxford Companion to Food|date=1999|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|isbn=9780191040726|page=269|edition=2014|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bIIeBQAAQBAJ&q=landry%2C+dukkah%2C+1978&pg=PA269|access-date=2 July 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Landry|first1=Robert|title=Guide culinaire des épices aromates et condiments|date=1978|publisher=Marabout|location=Verviers, Belgique}}</ref> indicates that even further ingredients can be used, such as nigella, millet flour and dried cheese. Some modern variants include pine nuts,<ref>{{cite web|last1=Zizka|first1=Maria|title=Cooking from the World Pantry: Dukkah|url=https://www.kcet.org/food/cooking-from-the-world-pantry-dukkah|website=KCET|publisher=KCETLink Media Group|access-date=3 July 2016}}</ref> pumpkin seeds<ref>{{cite web|last1=Shulman|first1=Martha Rose|title=Pumpkin Seed Dukkah|url=http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1014700-pumpkin-seed-dukkah|website=New York Times: Cooking|publisher=The New York Times Company|access-date=3 July 2016}}</ref> or sunflower seeds.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Ottolenghi|first1=Yotam|title=Yotam Ottolenghi's butter bean purée with dukkah recipe|url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2011/jun/04/butter-bean-puree-dukkah-ottolenghi-recipe|access-date=2 July 2016|agency=The Guardian|publisher=Guardian News and Media Limited|date=3 June 2011}}</ref> Gazan duqqa typically contains dill seeds and chile flakes, both common ingredients in that region.<ref name="tamimi2025">{{cite book |last1=Tamimi |first1=Sami |author1-link=Sami Tamimi |title=Boustany: A Celebration of Vegetables from my Palestine [A Cookbook] |date=15 July 2025 |publisher=Random House |isbn=978-1-9848-6318-8 |page=36 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Boustany/MEk9EQAAQBAJ |access-date=4 November 2025 |language=en}}</ref>
== Gallery ==
<gallery mode=packed> File:Egyptian dukkah (1126939936).jpg|Egyptian packaged duqqa File:Add remaining spices to roast for Du'ah.JPG|Coriander seeds and pine nuts being added to a duqqa mixture File:Duqqa.jpg|Duqqa prepared in mortar and pestle File:Dukkah.jpg|Duqqa prepared in a food processor </gallery>
==See also== {{portal|Food}} * List of Middle Eastern dishes * List of African dishes * Charoset
==Notes== {{Reflist|group="spelling"}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Cuisine of Egypt}} {{Palestinian cuisine}} {{Condiments}}
Category:Arab cuisine Category:Dips (food) Category:Egyptian cuisine Category:Palestinian cuisine Category:Saudi Arabian cuisine Category:Condiments Category:Herb and spice mixtures Category:Middle Eastern cuisine