MUHAMMARA (WITH TAMARIND)

We do a Mediterranean-inspired lunch almost every week. It usually involves chapatis (predictably, with some vegetable kneaded into the dough), hummus, a vegetable-and-paneer/potato cutlet, pickled onions, and a simple salad. Hummus is my sure-shot way of getting chickpeas into our weekly rotation. It goes down a treat with my preschooler, so I try not to change things up too much here (apart from sneaking in the odd vegetable: pumpkin hummus, beet-and-miso hummus).

Still, at the end of the week when I found a shrivelled red pepper knocking about, all I could think about was charring it over an open flame. This brutal treatment is when peppers shine. Char them until they’re blackened on all sides (use tongs unless you have asbestos fingers like me), then pop them into a covered container to steam. This step is crucial – it loosens the charred skin without you having to wash the peppers and rinse away all that flavour.

Muhammara traditionally uses pomegranate molasses – that sticky, sweet-sour syrup that gives it so much character. I make my own now and then by reducing pomegranate juice, but I don’t always have it on hand. So, unwilling to abandon the muhammara plan, I rummaged through the pantry for a substitute. I wanted sourness with depth, which lemon alone can’t offer. Tamarind? YES, TAMARIND. I added a small knob with a bit of sugar and it worked beautifully. The flavours were reminiscent of a classic muhammara yet still distinct in their own right. Tamarind did the job so well that I’m not sure I’ll bother stocking or making molasses anymore.

The rest of the ingredients are straightforward: walnuts and bread give the dip its body, and garlic and dried chillies bring more flavour. This is the kind of food that’s most characteristic of my cooking: simple, adaptable, and forgiving of whatever’s left at the back of the fridge.