Muhammara is a delicious roasted red bell pepper and walnut dip from the Middle East. This vegan Arabic dip is slightly sour, slightly sweet, savoury, and nutty. It can also be used as a spread to make sandwiches and wraps taste even better.
Though the Middle Eastern cuisine is dominated by non-vegetarian dishes, it has some delicious vegan & vegetarian dishes too, most of them are side dishes.
The fresh, light refreshing side dishes help in balancing the richness of the meat-based main course.
Today I am sharing the recipe for a very tasty Middle Eastern dip recipe called Muhammara. After hummus and labneh, this is the most popular dip in this region.
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What is Muhammara?
Muhammara is a delicious roasted red pepper and walnut sauce from the Middle East. It got it's name from the Arabic word ahmar which means red.
Though Muhammara is eaten in a lot of Middle Eastern countries like UAE, Turkey, Lebanon, and Syria, most people believe it's originally from Aleppo in Syria.
In Turkey, muhammara is called acuka.
What goes in Muhammara dip?
To make this vegan walnut pepper dip, the following ingredients are needed:
Ingredient notes
- Red bell peppers: They give muhammara it's beautiful color. Bell peppers are roasted before adding to the dip.
- Walnuts: Though traditionally walnuts are used in this recipe, you can also add roasted pinenuts, if you want.
- Pomegranate molasses: It's a very tasty sweet and sour molasses made with pomegranate juice. It's used in a lot of Middle Eastern recipes.
How to make with step by step photo instructions
- Line a baking a baking tray with aluminium foil and brush some oil on it.
- Cut each bell peppers into half (vetrically). Remove the seeds. Place the bell peppers in the baking tray with the cut side down.
- Bake in a pre-heated oven at 220°C (425°F) for 25 to 30 minutes or until they get charred.
- Put the bell peppers in a large bowl.
- Cover the bowl with a cling wrap for around 5 minutes. The steam released from the hot bell peppers will make peeling the easy.
- After 5 minutes, remove the cling wrap and peel the peppers.
7. Allow the bell peppers to reach temperature.
8. In the meanwhile dry roast walnut kernels on a medium flame for 4-5 minutes or until they start changing color. Allow to reach room temperature.
9. Put the peeled bell peppers in a chutney maker/ food processor.
10. Put all the other ingredients in the jar too.
11. Pulse to make a smooth paste.
12. Transfer to a serving bowl. Garnish with olive oil, chili flakes, and chopped walnuts.
How is Muhammara used?
- Serve Muhammara as a dipping sauce with your favorite appetizers like falafel, pita chips, or vegetable sticks.
- It can also be used as a vegan spread in sandwiches or wraps like I have used in this vegan Arabic sandwich.
- You can also add 1-2 tablespoons of this walnut pepper dip to your salad dressings for adding more flavor.
How to store?
To store, put in an air-tight container and refrigerate. It will be fine for about a week.
You make add more olive oil to increase the shelf life.
Note for gluten-free version
For making gluten-free Muhammara, use gluten-free bread crumbs.
Also, though pomegranate molasses is generally gluten-free, make sure to check the ingredients list in the bottle before using it, if you are on a gluten-free diet.
Recipe tips and tricks
- Allow the bell peppers and walnuts to reach room temperature before putting them into the grinding jar.
- You can also roast garlic with bell peppers for extra smoky flavor.
- Add lemon juice carefully as pomegranate molasses is already sour.
- While roasting walnuts, don't leave them unattended as they get burned very fast.
- For a brighter color, you may add some Kashmiri red chili powder.
Freqently asked questions
Yes, you can use store-bought roasted bell peppers too.
Because of it's red color, people assume that Muhammara will be spicy but it's not. It's sweet, savory, nutty, and slightly sour. If you want to add heat to it add some harissa or any other hot sauce.
More Middle Eastern side dishes
If you want to explore more Middle Eastern side dishes then the following recipes are worth checking:
More easy vegan dipping sauce recipes
Looking for quick and easy vegan dipping sauce recipes from around the world? Don't miss to check the following recipes:
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Recipe
Muhammara
Equipment
- Food processor/ chutney maker
Ingredients
- 2 red bell peppers
- ½ cup walnut kernels
- 2 tablespoons bread crumbs
- 3-4 garlic cloves adjust to taste
- 2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice adjust to taste
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon chili flakes adjust to taste
- ½ teaspoon cumin powder
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven at 220°C (425°F). Line a baking tray with aluminum foil and brush with some olive oil. Cut the red bell peppers in half and place them on the baking tray with the cut side facing down. Apply some more olive oil on top. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until they get charred.
- When the bell peppers are still hot put them in a bowl and seal the bowl with a cling wrap. Leave it like that for around 5 minutes. The steam released from the bell peppers will make peeling them easy. After 5 minutes, remove the cling wrap and peel the skin of bell peppers.
- Dry roast the walnut kernels in a pan for 4-5 minutes on medium flame or until they start changing color and become fragrant. Switch off the stove and allow the walnut kernels to reach room temperature.
- Put the bell peppers along with all the other ingredients into a grinding jar or food processor. Pulse to make a smooth paste.
- Transfer muhammara to a serving bowl. Drizzle some olive oil and garnish with chopped parsley, chili flakes, and chopped walnuts.
- Serve with toasted pita bread, vegetable sticks, or any snack of your choice.
Video
Notes
- Allow the bell peppers and walnuts to reach room temperature before putting them into the grinding jar.
- You can also roast garlic with bell peppers for extra smoky flavor.
- Add lemon juice carefully as pomegranate molasses is already sour.
- While roasting walnuts, don't leave them unattended as they get burned very fast.
- For a brighter color, you may add some Kashmiri red chili powder.
- More recipe tips and tricks are given within the post above. Please refer them to make this recipe.
I think you mean 220 degrees Fahrenheit. 🙂
Dear Lane, thanks a lot for leaving a comment to share your thoughts. In my oven, the bell pepper gets nicely charred (the way I want for this recipe) at 220 degrees celsius for around 25 minutes. However, you can adjust the temperature and time of your oven to get perfectly charred bell pepper, if the recommended setting is too high for your oven.