Today's spice is whole coriander
For all these many years, I have been happily throwing ground coriander in many a meal - I love the flavor it adds, especially when paired with cumin. I use it in Indian cooking, but also in Mexican food, soups, all over the place. Still, I brought home these beautiful whole coriander seeds from India and I was totally stunned when I ground some up for the first time. The aroma! The flavor! The lemony-ness! I didn't realize what coriander was really supposed to taste like, but I was in love.
I put my coriander to good use, in a big batch of Dukkah. Have you ever tried this stuff? I have been wanting to make this recipe from "The New Book of Middle Eastern Food" since I first spotted it about a year and a half ago. Dreams realized! This is a really compelling and delicious mixture of toasted hazelnuts, toasted sesame seeds, toasted coriander seeds, and toasted cumin seeds. In abundance. Friends, I'm talking about 3/4 cup of coriander seeds... not just a little teaspoon here or a tablespoon there. Major coriander.
Then you take your fresh bread, dip it in some yummy olive oil, and then dip that in the dukkah. Then you make squealing sounds of delight. At least that's what we all did. We had my mom and dad over for dinner, and so I made 4 small bowls, one for each of us. Unanimous consent that this stuff is delish! I made a half-batch, which was still a lot... but I'm so glad I finally made this and I'll definitely make it again.
Oh yum! This looks so good! It always amazes me the difference in flavour when you grind whole spices. I'm pretty lazy so I don't always do it, but the pay-off is incredible!
ReplyDeletei LOVE whole coriander...and Dukkah sounds delicious!
ReplyDeletedukkah sounds super familiar, but i've never had it before. i think it would be something i'd really enjoy 'cause i adore coriander in a big way. :) dukkah sounds awesome, Amey - now i want to find some whole coriander!!!
ReplyDeleteDukkah sounds wonderful! I have never seen coriander in pods, only the small round balls that look like pale peppercorns. I am intrigued!
ReplyDeleteI want to try this! I've bought dukkah once and I think it was old because it was like eating ground up cardboard.
ReplyDeleteYum. I freaking love whole coriander, which is good, because I am forever running out of ground coriander and going to the store to buy more and then buying whole instead because I am easily confused.
ReplyDeleteYou can use whole in a lot of the same places as ground, too-- by toasting it a bit first (mmm, toasted coriander) and then whacking it with something to crack it up a bit, like coarsely ground pepper. Delicious.
I've never had dukkah but it sounds good!
Wait, these are something different even... whole PODS of coriander?!?! With the round coriander seeds inside?
ReplyDeleteCoriander is definitely one of my favourite spices and when you grind your own it tastes so much better!
ReplyDeleteI also love dukkah... super delicious on roasted cauliflower as well. :)
I don't know that I've ever heard of dukkah, but it sounds like just about the best thing ever!
ReplyDelete