Omek Houria is a popular Tunisian carrot salad. This spicy carrot salad requires only a few ingredients and it’s easy to make and inexpensive. And of course, spicy too! Serve it with a pan-fried fish and surprise your friends and family.
What is Omek Houria?
Omak Houria is a spicy Tunisian carrot salad. It’s a very traditional salad in Tunisia, the name itself means “mother fairy”. In its basic form, Omek Houria is made of carrots, homemade harissa (harissa arbi), olive oil, and salt. Some like to add flavor with garlic, spices like caraway or coriander, and vinegar. The dish can be garnished with drizzled olive oil, chunks of tuna, halved egg, chopped parsley, sliced olives, or capers. This piquant carrot salad is a simple everyday food in Tunisia. It’s fast to make and most of the time all the needed ingredients are already in the pantry.
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What to serve with Omek Houria?
The great thing about Omek Houria is that it’s gluten-free, nut-free, and vegan (if you won’t garnish the dish with an egg and tuna). This makes it a great dish to offer for people who are following special diets.
In Tunisia, it’s often served together with bread and fried fish. It’s also a great addition to a plate called Tunisian dish. Try to use Omek Houria as a sandwich spread. Yummy! Or make an easy party appetizer: spread Omek Houria on sliced baguette and top with sliced olives and chopped parsley. I’d say that it’s a perfect appetizer.
Try also: Recipe Market Batata – Tunisian Flavorful Beef Stew
Omek Houria- Tunisian spicy carrot salad ingredients
With just a couple of ingredients, you can make a Tunisian spicy and simple carrot salad.
Carrots are the base for Omek Houria. Carrots are highly nutritious: full of fibers, vitamins, and minerals. In this recipe, carrots are peeled, sliced, and boiled. After that cooked and soft carrots break down into smashed salad.
Harissa is a key ingredient of Tunisian cooking. It’s a hot chili pepper paste made of roasted peppers, garlic, spices, and salt. In this recipe, harissa brings heat and spiciness into the dish. You can use the homemade harissa (harissa arbi) that is richer in taste. In that case might be that you don’t need to add any other spice to the dish, just a pinch of salt. If you are using the normal canned harissa then other spices might be needed.
Olive oil is an important part of Mediterranean cuisine. Happens to be that Tunisia is one of the world’s biggest olive oil producers. I guess that every salad in Tunisia, also Omek Houria includes a generous amount of high-quality olive oil.
Garlic is another essential part of Tunisian cuisine. If you are using homemade harissa in Omek Houria. Might be that adding more garlic isn’t needed. But if you want to add some more garlic. Grate a couple cloves of raw garlic and mix it into the salad. You can also boil the garlic cloves and smash them with the carrots. Boiling the garlic removes its bitterness and pungency.
Adding spices like salt, caraway or coriander is a great option if you want to add a little more spice and richness into your carrot salad. A dash of vinegar can brighten up the flavor but it’s really a matter of taste if you like to add it or not.
Garnish the Tunisian spicy carrot salad with your own preference. Great and traditional options are tuna, boiled egg, olives, capers, and parsley.
A couple of tips to make the best Omek Houria
- Smash the carrots with a fork instead of using a blender or stick blender. The goal is that Omek Houria is a smashed carrot salad with some chunks. You don’t want to make a carrot puree.
- Traditional Omek Houria is a spicy carrot salad and it’s hot and spicy. So, season it generously.
- To make the very basic Omek Houria you need only carrots, homemade harissa, olive oil, and a pinch of salt.
- Make a bigger batch of carrot salad at once and store the rest in the fridge. Omek Houria stored in an airtight container in the fridge will last about 4 days.
Recipe Omek Houria –Tunisian spicy carrot salad
Servings: 6 side dishes
Total preparation time: 30 minutes
Omek Houria ingredients
500g Carrots, peeled and sliced
2 cloves of garlic, grated
1 tbsp harissa
2 tbsp olive oil
½ tsp caraway or coriander, powder
½ tsp salt
Optional Garnish: (choose a couple)
1 tbsp of tuna, chunks
1 egg, hardboiled and halved
A couple of olives or capers
Fresh parsley, finely chopped
How to make the best Tunisian Omek Houria
- Peel 500g of carrots and cut them into evenly sized slices.
- Add ½ liters of water to a large saucepan and bring it to boil. Transfer the carrots into boiling water and let cook for around 25 minutes until the carrots are softened. *If you have decided to garnish your dish with an egg. Boil it for 10 minutes at the same time with the carrots*
- Drain the tender carrots and smash them coarsely with a fork
- Peel two garlic cloves and grate them. Mix the finely grated garlic with mashed carrots.
- Add into salad 1tbsp of harissa, 2 tbsp of olive oil, ½ tsp of caraway or coriander, and a pinch of salt if needed. Mix all the ingredients carefully together.
- Garnish with a halved hardboiled egg, finely chopped parsley, and drizzle some olive oil on the top.