Condiment Series | Muhammara | Dip

Hi !!
I'm on a binge again. Only this time it's not an eating binge. It's a dip-making ( read relish / dips / sauces) binge.
I'm gonna be dividing this into a series here, where I'll be sharing recipes for various types of dips. Each post will carry one type of recipe. Let's see how many I can create :-)

Each post will carry one recipe. 

At home I'm constantly trying my best to not use butter for everyday use, especially for my breakfast and keep exploring alternatives for it. The constant battle to feed healthy yet delicious food to my family and to keep a check on my ever growing waistline.

So today I share the recipe of Muhammara, a pepper dip originally from Syria, now commonly found in Levantine and Turkish Cuisines. It has a nutty texture with a slight sweetness to it. Works well on a crostini or a wrap or as dip to be served with pita or even with a platter of salad.

Muhammara

Ingredients

2 Red Bell Peppers
1 Fresh Red Chilli
1 tbsp Chilli Flakes
3 cloves of Garlic
1/3 cup of Olive Oil
1/3 cup of Bread Crumbs
1/2 cup of Toasted Walnuts.
2 tsps Pomegranate Molasses 
1 tsp Lemon Juice
Salt to taste


Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Toast the bread crumbs for 10 minutes or until lightly toasted. Set aside to cool.

2. Now roast the bell peppers and the red chillies for about 20-25 minutes. Let it cool.

3. In the food processor add the roasted bell peppers, roasted chillies, bread crumbs, toasted walnuts, garlic, chilli flakes, lemon juice pomegranate molasses and salt. Whisk to a paste. While the processor is running, in a thin stream add the olive oil. Once all ingredients are nicely blended, remove from the processor, transfer in a serving dish, add a little olive oil and garnish with Parsley or Coriander leaves. 
Serve.