Zhug

Zhug is a long-time favourite chill recipe of mine.  I first came across it when I shared a flat in London in the 1970's with a Palestinian girl, although Zhug is actually a Yemeni recipe.  It is essentially a hot and spicy relish traditionally served as a dip for warm, fresh bread.  It is also used as a sauce for falafel, kebabs and grilled meats and added to soups, pasta sauces and stews.  You can even mix it with yoghurt for a dip for crudités. Traditionally it is made with fresh chillies but you could just as easily use re-constituted dried chillies.

There are many different versions of the recipe and you can easily alter the balance of ingredients to suit you own palette.  The heat will depend on the variety of chilli you use.  I have always used this one...

Serves 4

3 or 4 Fresh Green Chillies
1 Head of Garlic (peeled)
1 Large bunch of fresh Coriander
3 or 4 Cardamom Pods (you can remove the the outer green shell and just use the black seeds within)
1 Tablespoon of Caraway Seeds
Salt and Pepper

Either grind all ingredients in a mortar and pestle or blitz in a food processor then store in a covered jar.
Use sparingly as this is hot!

Other ingredients that you could throw in for a different flavour include; cumin seeds, cloves, parsley, and a little lemon juice.

Another milder relish called Hilbeh is often made by grinding or blitzing  a teaspoon or so of Zhug with a large fresh tomato and a couple of tablespoons of Fenugreek seeds.

Yummy!

If you wish to use any of our dried chillies in this recipe you could re-constitute them by simply covering them with boiling water, soaking for 15 minutes and draining.  Then simply use as you would fresh chillies.  Alternatively grind them to a powder using a Chilli Mill.