Whole spices
Cubeb (kebab chini)
Piper cubeba
Peppercorns with a little stalk; piney, bitter and numbing. Used in Mughlai potli and biryani masalas.
Also called: kebab chini, kabab chini, kababchini, tailed pepper, cubeb pepper, java pepper, val milagu
Around the world: कबाब चीनी (hi) · வால் மிளகு (ta)
- Resinous & piney
- Warm & sweet
- Hot & numbing
- Mild
Flavour and aroma
piney, allspice-like, bitter, numbing. Peppery, bitter and slightly numbing.
- Heat
- Mild
- Forms
- whole, ground
How to use it
dry roast · Spice roasting (dry-roasting) technique
Warm with the other whole spices over low heat for about a minute, then grind.
infuse · Simmering technique
Tie a few berries into a muslin potli with other whole spices and simmer in the cooking liquid for biryani or nihari.
- Potli masala and biryani masala
- Shahi garam masala for kormas
- Some kebab marinades
Identifying good quality
Dark brown to black berries like peppercorns, each with a short stalk (the 'tail'). They should smell strongly of pine and allspice when crushed.
- Not to be confused with Black peppercorns: Black pepper has no stalk.
Origin and history
Origin: Java and Sumatra, Indonesia.. Grown and used: Grown mainly in Indonesia; a speciality spice in India and North Africa..
Cubeb was traded by Arab merchants and used in medieval Middle Eastern and European cooking and medicine. In India, as kebab chini, it survives in Mughlai, Awadhi and Hyderabadi potli and biryani masalas, and it also appears in some Moroccan ras el hanout blends.
Commonly told; not firmly documented
Recipes with cubeb (kebab chini)
No recipes use it yet.