Baharat (seven spice)

Flavour and aroma

peppery, warm, sweet-spicy. Peppery and warm, with sweet cinnamon and clove.

Heat

Very mild

Forms

ground

How to use it

• bloom in fat · Tadka (tempering) technique

  Fry with onions and minced meat for kibbeh filling, stuffed vegetables and rice dishes; 1–2 teaspoons per 500 g meat.

• use raw

  Mix into raw kofta and kibbeh, or rub on lamb and chicken before roasting.

• Mixing into kofta, kibbeh and meat fillings
• Seasoning rice with minced meat (hashweh)
• Rubbing on lamb and chicken before roasting
• Stuffed vine leaves and vegetables

Identifying good quality

A dark brown, fine powder that smells first of black pepper and allspice, then cinnamon and clove.

• Not to be confused with Ras el hanout: Ras el hanout is more floral and complex.

Origin and history

Origin: The Arab world; 'baharat' simply means 'spices' in Arabic.. Grown and used: Used in Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Jordan, Iraq, the Gulf states and Turkey, each with local versions..

Baharat is the general-purpose spice blend of Arab cooking. Levantine 'seven spice' typically contains black pepper, allspice, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, coriander and cumin or cardamom; Gulf versions often add dried lime, and Turkish versions may include mint.

Commonly told; not firmly documented