My three Go-To Dips!
There is nothing greater than having a go-to dip. Usually, my family makes this awesome yoghurt dip and a salsa verde however, I really wanted to make some that I could call my own. So… I went ahead and stole recipes from Natasha and her family hahaha. Below are three dips that are AMAZING and perfect for any social gathering/gaming event. We shot these in the hopes of making some short-form content since Instagram is going gaga over reels but we ended up loving the dips so much, I wanted to dedicate some real estate on the blog for these lovelies. Now, go ahead and check these dips out for the next F1 Race Day!!
Orange Onion Jam
A good onion jam needs to be a skill to learn. Not only is it a great chip enhancer, it’s great on burgers, fried rice, and literally anything that needs some sweet umami goodness. Unlike traditional French Onion preparation, this uses some flavour enhancers and colouring agents— namely brown sugar and balsamic vinegar. This significantly reduces time and effort (ain’t no one got time to cook onions for 120 minutes. Also no Indian mom will let you waste so much gas on some onions hahaha). The orange infusion adds so much flavour and the fresh zest on top ensures constant orange perfume for weeks! This is good to store for 2 months in a glass jar in the fridge!
Ingredients
8-10 onions, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons neutral oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
Salt to taste.
Juice and zest of one orange
Method
Slice onions lengthwise. Cut the roots and tops. Slice in half and cut into thin strips with the ridges of the onions as a stencil.
In a cast-iron pan on medium-high heat, add oil. Once it reaches temperature, add onions and let cook off for about 10 minutes.
Once the onion gets some colour, add salt, brown sugar, balsamic vinegar, and orange juice and mix well. Cook for another 30 minutes. Keep moving the onions. Add two tablespoons of water to clean up the bottom of the pan
Around the 40-50 minute mark, the onion should become nice and jammy. Switch off the head and the orange zest. And you are done!
Muhammara
Let’s make some Muhammara! This is a classic middle eastern meal with some very classic middle eastern ingredients like Aleppo peppers, pomegranate molasses, and walnuts. My attempt was to make it a little more accessible for us. I have swapped some ingredients but the end result is a surprisingly sweet and spicy dip with a deep smoky flavour that, surprisingly, went with literally everything!
Ingredients
2 large red bell peppers, Roasted over a gas
3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon pickled red peppers
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup almonds (walnuts work better but I’m just allergic)
1/2 teaspoon tomato paste
3 toasts crumbled into crumbs
Method
On an open flame, place peppers and let them char evenly all over. About 2 minutes on each side. Let the peppers cool and scrape the charred bits. Cut into chunks and de-seed.
In a blender, add olive oil, garlic, and almonds and blend well. This will help emulsify the oils.
Add peppers, brown sugar, pickled peppers, tomato paste, and breadcrumbs. Blend well.
Add salt, cayenne pepper and blend well. Taste and correct for salt and spice. You are done!
French Onion Dip
Now that you have successfully made some lovely onion jam, let’s make it into a big boy dip that tastes like sour cream and onion flavour chip but with SO MUCH texture!
Ingredients
1/2 cup of yoghurt (hung and drained well)
1 teaspoon garlic powder/granules
1 teaspoon salt
1 whole spring onion, green and white stalks sliced thin
1 tablespoon onion jam
Method
In a bowl, add all the ingredients and mix well!