Muhammara is a healthy but also delicious mezze that you must try at home!
I love cooking Turkish food and food from other cuisines around the Middle East. Give me a good selection of Turkish mezzes any day and I’ll be very happy. This muhammara is one of my favourites, right up there with hummus and emze salad. If you like smoky flavours, you really do need to try this one soon.
What is muhammara?
Muhammara is a flavourful dip or mezze made from roasted red peppers, walnuts, breadcrumbs, olive oil, and spices such as cumin and paprika.
It originates from the Middle Eastern region, including Turkey and Syria, and is known for its rich, smoky flavour and slightly spicy, tangy taste. Pomegranate molasses is often added for sweetness and tartness. Traditionally served as part of a mezze platter, muhammara pairs well with flatbreads, crackers, or grilled meats, offering a delicious and healthy appetizer.
What is pomegranate molasses?
Pomegranate molasses is a thick, syrupy condiment made from reduced pomegranate juice, often with added sugar and lemon juice. It has a deep, tangy-sweet flavour with a slightly sour edge, commonly used in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cooking. It is available at specialty grocers and online or you could make your own by reducing about a litre (4 cups) of pomegranate juice until it becomes thick and syrupy. You could also substitute thick reduce balsamic vinegar which will give a slightly different flavour but it’s a good substitute.
Pomegranate molasses is often used in marinades, salad dressings, sauces, and as a flavour enhancer in dishes like stews and dips like this muhammara.
What other ingredients of interest are in muhammara?
Not all muhammara recipes call for Turkish red pepper paste but mine does. You can purchase that too at ethnic grocers and online. It’s called biber salcasi and I have a recipe for it here but it’s a lot easier to just purchase some.
You can also leave it out if you must.
About the garlic.
You could just use a couple cloves of finely chopped garlic in this recipe. I like to roast a whole head of garlic when I roast the peppers. This cooks out the sharpness of the fresh garlic and leaves a deeper garlicky flavour.
Both fresh and roasted garlic are use in traditional muhammara.
How do you blacken the peppers?
In the recipe below, I give the easy way to do it in your oven.
I prefer to blacken the peppers the traditional way over fire. This gives the muhammara a delicious smoky flavour. It takes about 20 minutes to blacken the peppers in this way over a medium heat fire. If roasting the peppers over fire, wrap a whole garlic bulb in foil and let it roast in the coals. You can use all the garlic if roasted like this and you will love the smoky flavour.
If you have a gas stove, you can also roast the chillies on it. Use tongs to turn them from time to time to blacken all the skin.
How long can you store muhammara in the fridge?
You can store muhammara in the fridge, covered tightly for 3 to 4 days. It will be as good as if not better than the day you made it as the flavours develop.
Can you freeze muhammara?
Yes but I don’t recommend doing so. This recipe is all about the freshness of the ingredients. If you do decide to freeze your muhammara, it will still be good but you might notice a change in the texture.
If so, just whisk it and it will almost fix that problem. To freeze it, be sure to freeze the muhammara in an air-tight container and label and date it. It will keep for 3 months with little loss of flavour.
Step by step photographs.
Get all your ingredients together and prepared before starting.
See the recipe card for roasting instructions in the oven. I prefer to blacken the peppers over charcoal which achieves a delicious smoky flavour.
Regardless of the roasting method you use, you want your peppers to look like this at the end.
Cover your roasted peppers with clingfilm or foil to cool and loosen the skins.
While the peppers are cooling, place a pan over a medium heat and pour in the walnuts. Toast the walnuts in the pan for about 10 minutes, stirring regularly. Transfer to a plate to cool.
Now add the breadcrumbs to the pan to toast them.
Toast the breadcrumbs, stirring regularly until golden brown. Transfer to a plate to cool.
Once cooled, peel the blackened skin off the peppers. You don’t have to get it all but the more you remove the smoother your muhammara will be.
Place the breadcrumbs and walnuts in a blender and pulse a few times.
Add the peppers, garlic and all of the remaining ingredients and blend until smooth.
Drizzle with olive oil and garnish with the chopped parsley, sumac and pomegranate seeds.
Get dipping!
If you like this Turkish Muhammara, you might like to try some of these other Turkish recipes!
- Turkish Style Mediterranean Grilled Fish
- Tantuni – Grilled Steak Wraps
- Beef Shish Kabobs
- Slow Cooked Lamb
- Lahmacun
- Turkish Chicken Kebabs
- Turkish Onion Salad
- Baba Ganoush – Eggplant (Aubergine) meze
- Easy Hummus – Really smooth and delicious
- Turkish Ezme Salad
- Lavash Flatbread
- Homemade Pitas
- Homemade Tahini
- Tahini Sauce
Have you tried this recipe for muhammara?
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Muhammara Recipe
This is the easy version of my muhammara recipe. Be sure to check out the notes for alternative cooking methods.
Ingredients
- 4 large bell peppers, stems, seeds and membranes removed
- 1 to 2 long red chillies such as spur chillies
- 4 cloves garlic, skin removed and finely chopped or a whole head of garlic, roasted
- 110g (1 cup) walnuts
- 50g (1/2 cup) bread crumbs
- 2 tbsp red bell pepper paste
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tbsp Pomegranate Molasses
- 1 tbsp aleppo chilli flakes or pul biber
- Salt to taste
- TO SERVE
- 3 tsp pomegranate seeds
- 3 tbsp flatleaf parsley, finely chopped
- 1 tsp sumac
- The remaining olive oil of more to taste
Instructions
- Slice the peppers down the centre and remove the stalks, seeds and membranes. Place in a mixing bowl with with 1 tbsp olive oil. Mix well that everything is coated with the oil and set aside.
- Preheat your oven to 230°C/450°F. Place the peppers on a rack above a baking tray on the top rack of your the oven. (See Notes for alternative cooking methods.)
- Roast for about 15 minutes, skin side up or until the skins on the peppers are beginning to char and blacken all over.
- While the peppers are cooking, place a pan over a medium-high heat and pour in the walnuts. Toast the walnuts in the pan for about 10 minutes, stirring regularly. Transfer to a plate to cool and add the breadcrumbs to the pan.
- Toast the breadcrumbs for about 5 minutes or until golden brown.
- Pour the walnuts and breadcrumbs into a food processor or blender and hit pulse a few times.
- When your peppers are nicely blackened, transfer it all to a bowl and cover tightly with foil or clingfilm to cool. As the pepper and garlic cool, the steam inside will help make it easier to peel off the skins.
- Peel the skins off the peppers and discard them. Place the peppers in your blender with the walnuts and breadcrumbs.
- Add the bell pepper paste, tomato paste, 2 tbsp olive oil, pomegranate molasses and Aleppo chilli powder or pu biber. Blend until smooth.
- Try it and add salt to taste. Blend it in. Then pour it all onto a serving plater. If you want to get fancy, you could press a spoon down in the centre of the muhammara and turn the plate while you swirl the smoon toward the edges. This will give you a nice indentation where you can pour the remaining olive oil.
- To serve, top with olive oil, chopped parsley, pomegranate seeds and sumac.
Notes
Alternative Cooking Methods.
BBQ
I prefer to blacken the peppers the traditional way over fire. This gives the muhammara a delicious smoky flavour. It takes about 20 minutes to blacken the peppers in this way over a medium heat fire. If roasting the peppers over fire, wrap a whole garlic bulb in foil and let it roast in the coals. You can use all the garlic if roasted like this and you will love the smoky flavour.
When you cook over fire, you don't need to slice the peppers and deseed them until after they have cooled. You also don't need to add the olive oil as you do in the oven method.
On the Stove
If you have a gas stove, you can also roast the whole peppers on it. Use tongs to turn them from time to time to blacken all the skin. Do not add the olive oil if blackening the peppers in this way.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 208Total Fat: 13gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 13mgSodium: 339mgCarbohydrates: 18gFiber: 2gSugar: 9gProtein: 6g