Dagga

Ingredients

Salad

• 6ripe tomatoes
• 4 clovesgarlic
• 2green chillies
• 1large bunch dill
• juice of 1 lemon
• 4 tbspolive oil
• 1 tspsalt
• ½ tspground cumin, optional

Equipment

• a zibdiyeh, the clay bowl
• a wooden pestle

Directions

1. Pound the garlic, green chillies and salt together in the zibdiyeh until they break down into a rough paste.
2. Add the dill and pound it in. Dill is what marks this as Gazan rather than a generic tomato salad, and it goes in by the bunch rather than as a garnish.
3. Cut the tomatoes in half, squeeze out most of the seeds and watery pulp, and discard them.
4. Add the tomatoes to the bowl and crush them with the pestle rather than chopping them first.
5. Crushing is the entire method. A knife gives you neat dice sitting in juice, whereas the pestle breaks the flesh down so that it releases and thickens into something between a salad and a dip.
6. Work in the lemon juice, olive oil and cumin.
7. Taste and correct the salt and the lemon. It should be sharp, garlicky and properly hot.
8. Let it stand for 15 minutes so the flavours settle into one another.
9. Serve at room temperature in the bowl it was made in, with bread for scooping and grilled fish alongside.

Technique

• The zibdiyeh is a wide, shallow, unglazed clay bowl, and it is both the mixing vessel and the serving dish.
• Squeezing the seeds out matters. Left in, they water the whole thing down within minutes.
• It is meant to be eaten the day it is made and it does not keep well.

Substitutions

• A mortar and pestle, or a large bowl and the end of a rolling pin.
• Coriander in place of some of the dill, though the dill is the point.

Variations

• With a little tahini worked through, which is done in some households.
• Much hotter, with three or four chillies.
• Served alongside sayadieh, the fish and rice dish it usually accompanies.

History

Made in the zibdiyeh with a wooden pestle; the dill and green chilli mark it as distinctly Gazan.

Frequently asked questions

What is Dagga?

Dagga is a salad & side from Palestine: crushed tomato, chilli, dill and garlic salad pounded in a clay bowl. Made in the zibdiyeh with a wooden pestle; the dill and green chilli mark it as distinctly Gazan.

How long does Dagga take to make?

Dagga takes 20 min of preparation and no cooking at all. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Dagga?

Yes, within limits. A mortar and pestle, or a large bowl and the end of a rolling pin. Coriander in place of some of the dill, though the dill is the point.

What is the most important thing to get right in Dagga?

Add the dill and pound it in. Dill is what marks this as Gazan rather than a generic tomato salad, and it goes in by the bunch rather than as a garnish.