Prep 10 minutes
There is only so much you can do to a protein. You can grill, bake, sear or stew it and that’s about it. What brings it alive and also what makes individual cuisines around the world unique are the spices that are used.
Baharat which is the Arabic word for spices, is the foundation of Middle Eastern cuisine and is a blend of eight ingredients that give a meat dish a wonderful earthy, aromatic and smokey flavor. There is no set recipe for the mix but the basic ingredients that are consistent from blend to blend, include black pepper, coriander, paprika, cardamom, nutmeg, cumin, cloves, and cinnamon. Occasionally you may want to add some lemony sumac for added complexity.
Since baharat is a combination of several spices, it is very versatile. Use it as a dry spice rub or as in marinade —simply add olive oil, a little lemon juice and salt to the spice mix. You can also use it as condiment as you would salt and pepper on any beef, poultry, fish, as well as soups and rice. A pinch of it is delicious on an oil brushed and slightly toasted pita bread, sprinkled on roasted. vegetables or on a cottage cheese bruschetta.
It is a strong tasting mix and when you use it to flavor ground meat, use 1/2 a teaspoon of the mix for every 1/2 pound of meat. Otherwise you can season stews, grills and other cooked dishes to suite your taste. It is particularly suited to flavor pulse and lentil dishes like this black lentil ragu.
Once you make it, it stays fresh for at least three months in an airtight container and I always have a small jar of it alongside salt pepper on the dinning table.
The recipe gives you a rough guide to the proportions of each ingredient but you can always vary that to suite your taste – reduce the cinnamon or cloves for a less sweet taste or more pepper for a hotter mix.
Baharat - The Essential Middle Eastern Spice Mix
by
Derek Farwagi
Equipment
- Spice or coffee grinder
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp black peppercorns
- 1 tbsp cumin seeds
- 2 tsp coriander seeds
- 1 tsp whole cloves
- ½ tsp cardamom seeds
- 1 ½ tbsp paprika
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
Instructions
- Set aside the paprika, cinnamon and nutmeg.
- Put all the other ingredients in the grinder and grind for 5 seconds.
- Add the paprika, cinnamon and nutmeg and pulse for 1-2 seconds.
- Keep stored in an airtight glass jar.
Nutrition
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