duqqa a spice mixture used in the Near East. The word is derived from the Arabic verb meaning ‘to pound’. Claudia Roden (1985) explains that the ingredients in the mixture vary from one family to another, although typically including sesame and coriander seeds, cumin, salt and pepper, and perhaps hazlenut. She also quotes a 19th-century source which lists zaatar or wild marjoram or mint, with sesame and coriander seeds and cinnamon, plus chickpeas. Roden emphasizes the texture:
It is a loose mixture of nuts and spices in a dry, crushed but not powdered form, usually eaten with bread dipped in olive oil. In Egypt it is served at breakfast time, as an appetizer, or as a snack in the evening. … Roast or grill the ingredients separately. Pound them together until they are finely crushed but not pulverized. … Dukkah should always be a crushed dry mixture, and definitely not a paste.
