Zhoug substitutes

One large bunch of cilantro including tender stems, two jalapenos or serranos, two garlic cloves, half a teaspoon ground cumin, a quarter teaspoon ground cardamom, a quarter teaspoon salt, three tablespoons olive oil, juice of half a lemon.

Best for

everything zhoug is used for, eggs and shakshuka, roast chicken and lamb, sandwiches, falafel and grain bowls

This is the honest answer and it beats every jar. Pulse the chilies, garlic and spices first, then add the herbs and pulse again in short bursts so it stays coarse rather than becoming a smoothie, then stir in the oil and lemon by hand. Leave the seeds in for full heat or scrape them out for a mild version. It takes less time than a trip to the shop, keeps five days in the fridge under a film of oil, and freezes well in ice-cube trays.

North African-style fresh green chili and herb paste, sold in jars and tubs in many supermarkets.

Best for

sandwiches and wraps, spooning over roast vegetables, stirring into yogurt, when you want to buy rather than make

The nearest ready-made product, since it is built on the same idea of fresh chili plus green herbs plus oil. The differences are the spice profile and the herbs: green harissa usually leans on caraway, coriander seed and mint or parsley, so it tastes more anise-like and less perfumed, with no cardamom at all. Stir in a quarter teaspoon of ground cardamom and a handful of chopped cilantro per half cup and it becomes very hard to tell apart.

Argentine herb sauce of parsley, garlic, oregano, vinegar and oil, adjusted toward the Middle East.

Best for

grilled meat, when chimichurri is already in the fridge, steak and lamb chops, potatoes

The base structure is right, a loose raw herb sauce with garlic and oil, so it sits on food the same way. Straight from the jar it tastes sharply vinegary and oregano-heavy with almost no heat, which is a long way from zhoug. Adding a minced serrano, the cumin and the cardamom fixes most of it, and swapping some of the parsley for cilantro fixes the rest. If you dislike cilantro, this is actually the better route, since chimichurri gets there on parsley alone.

Cilantro blitzed with oil, garlic, nuts and sometimes cheese, either homemade or from a jar.

Best for

grain bowls, roast vegetables, eggs, mild versions for children

Gets the herb volume and the garlic exactly right, which is half the battle. What changes: pesto is thicker and creamier because of the nuts, and any cheese in it makes the sauce taste rich and savoury rather than raw and bright. It also has no heat whatsoever, so a fresh chili is essential rather than optional. Look for a version without parmesan if you want the closest match, and add lemon, because pesto is usually much less acidic than zhoug.

Raw or lightly cooked tomatillo, chili, cilantro and onion sauce, sold everywhere.

Best for

eggs and shakshuka, wraps, roast chicken, when the supermarket has nothing Middle Eastern

Cheap, everywhere, and it shares two of zhoug's four jobs: chili heat and cilantro. The tomatillos are the difference, contributing a fruity vegetal sourness and a lot of water, so the sauce is thinner, tangier and less oily, and it soaks into bread instead of sitting on top. Drain off the loose liquid, stir in a tablespoon of olive oil and a pinch of cumin and cardamom, and it improves noticeably. Nobody would mistake it for zhoug, but a shakshuka topped with it still tastes good.

Bottled chili sauce paired with a handful of fresh herbs, the pantry emergency version.

Best for

when there is genuinely nothing else, sandwiches, eggs, adding heat mid-recipe

Be clear that this is a stopgap. You get heat and you get fresh cilantro, and those two together do read vaguely as zhoug on a sandwich. What is missing is everything else: bottled chili sauces are sweetened and vinegary, so the result tastes noticeably sweet and sour, there is no olive oil richness, and no warm spice at all. A pinch each of cumin and cardamom costs nothing and helps a surprising amount.