Move over hummus, it's muhammara time to shine! The Muhammara is the best-tasting roasted red pepper dip from Syria. This sweet and savoury dip is sure to be a hit at your next meze or any gathering. It's loaded with earthy walnuts, sweet roasted red peppers, and tart pomegranate molasses.
I promise it'll be your next go-to, gluten-free, everything dip.
Muhammara is not your Average Dip!
Muhammara is one of Syria's most famous dip, yet renowned in some cities and utterly unknown in others. It was a complete shock to me when I found this out, how could such an AMAZING dip not be as popular and as well know as hummus? Mind-blown!!!
This dip seriously has everything you could ask for⏤roasted sweet red pepper, earthy walnuts, tart pomegranate molasses, followed by some pungent garlic, spicy Aleppo pepper, and mellowed out with a drizzle of honey and hint of coffee to balance everything out.
Where talking *CHEF KISS* 👌🏼 perfection here my friends!!!
If you're familiar with Muhammara, you might be wondering where's the bread? Well, my recipe is a bit different than the traditional Muhammara, mainly because I omitted the bread crumbs and added a secret trick (coffee!!) to bring the flavours to the next level.
This muhammara dip recipe will be the one that all your friends will rave and beg for the recipe. You'll be able to just smile and soak in all your culinary prowess. 😉
What You'll Need to Make Muhammara:
To make this muhammara, this is what you'll need:
Walnuts: It's best to purchase raw nuts and roast them yourself; this way, you'll ensure they're fresh. When storing natural walnuts, place them in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 6 months to maintain freshness.
Red peppers: I prefer using Turkish red peppers in this recipe, but any red pepper will work. You can even use jarred roasted red peppers. It's a time-saving hack, but I have found that this recipe tastes the best when you roast the pepper yourself. Roasting the peppers can be done in the oven, on a grill pan, in a grill press, or you can wrap it in foil and place it in on your stove element and char section by section.
Garlic: 1 or 2, it's up to you! I'm a huge garlic lover, so I always do 2.
Pomegranate molasses: This ingredient may not be available everywhere; you may have to order it on Amazon. Be sure to read the ingredient labels of this product, many manufacturers add sugar to the product to cut costs. Still, the real molasses should have nothing but pomegranate and citric acid in the ingredients. Magharit jeita is one of the best brands I've found for producing high-quality Middle Eastern products.
Honey: you don't need much of this, a little honey adds a perfect touch of necessary sweetness to this dish.
Aleppo pepper: You add a bit of heat to this dip, not too much. You just need a little hit of heat after the sweet and savoury profiles of the dip to round off all the flavours.
Espresso: This is the secret ingredient to the best Muhammara you can make. You can use instant or regular expresso. If you leave it out, it's not a deal-breaker, it just won't be the best.
How to make this fancy dip
You're only three easy steps away from making the best-tasting muhammara on the internet! Ok, maybe that's a bold statement, but it's damn good and super easy.
First, you dry roast the walnuts in a frying pan.
Second, you grill the red peppers on a grill pan or BBQ until the skin is charred, remove most of the charred bits — no need for perfectionism in this step. You can even skip this step and just use jarred peppers to save time.
Third, add everything into a food processor and blend until a chunky dip. Top with olive oil, pomegranate molasses & walnuts.
Now, use this dip on everything! 😉
Fun facts about Muhammara Dip:
- It's loaded with vitamin C up to 200% of your daily recommended amount!
- This dip is an excellent source of vitamin B6, folate, manganese, & folic acid.
- The red peppers are high in Vitamin A, C and lycopene, which a powerful antioxidant trio to prevent some cancers
- A high amount of vitamin E to keep you looking young.
- Thanks to the red peppers, this dish can activate thermogenesis and increase metabolic rate, with the rise in heart rate and blood pressure.
- Great for brain health thanks to the excellent source of omega 3 and other antioxidants
Serve the Ultimate Mhammara along with:
- Middle Eastern Whole Chicken along with pilaf
- Greek Grilled Chicken along with roasted veggies and pita bread
- Za'atar Chicken along with Batata Harrah and pita bread
- or my favourite way to eat it along with Hindbe and good crusty bread.
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Published: July 7, 2019 · Modified photography: Oct 21, 2021
Muhammara (Syrian Red pepper Dip)
Ingredients
- 4 Turkish red peppers - roasted
- 2 garlic cloves - chopped
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoon pomegrante molasses
- 1 tablespoon tahini
- ¼ teaspoon honey
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon alppeo pepper
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon cumin
- 1 pinch of salt
- ¼ teaspoon finely ground coffee
- 1 cup walnuts
Instructions
- Roast your peppers: see notes
- Add walnuts to a dry medium-sized frying pan to dry roast your walnuts for 5-7 minutes.
- Combine roasted pepper, oil, molasses, honey and spices in a food processor until smooth.
- Add the walnuts and pulse until the walnut are chopped but not so much that's it's a nut butter. You should have some texture.
- Transfer the dip to a small bowl and garnish with walnuts and olive oil.
Notes
- Oven method: Preheat to 400˚ Place peppers on a baking sheet and then light brush the whole pepper with oil. Bake for 15-20 minutes and rotate and continue baking for 15-20 more minutes. Transfer to a closed contanier and let cool. remove seeds and skin once cooled.
- Boil/ BBQ method: Place the oven rack close to the top. Preheat oven to boil. Place peppers on a cookie sheet. Place the peppers in the oven. ( If using BBQ start here) Rotate peppers every 5 minute for 20 minutes. Will be every chard but don't worry it going to be peeled off once cooled. remove seeds and skin.
- Stovetop Method: You'll need a gas stove to obtain best results with this method. If you have an electric stovetop you can still use this method just wrap the peppers in foil. Heat the gas/element to high heat place the pepper on it. Using an oven mitt and long tongs, rotate the pepper every 5 minutes until chard on all sides. Remove chard bits and seeds once cool.
- Grill Pan or Grill Press Method: Heat the pan to high heat. Cut pepper in half remove seeds. Place lightly oil peppers on pan skin side down. Once peppers are chard about 15 minutes turn over and contiune grilling 15-20 minutes.
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