Baharat in Arabic refers to a mixture of spices that is used to flavor many main course dishes as well as appetizers. The baharat mixture differs from country to country and even from house to house. Since my husband's family comes from the Gulf, they traditionally refer to the spice mixture as 'kabsa' spice. I personally LOVE living in the Gulf and being able to experience all the spices in the souqs (markets). They are displayed in big sacks taller than my toddler and the smells are amazing. I could spend hours just checking out all the spices and I am constantly sneaking to the spice souqs just to 'smell' them all.
Sifting through whole spices that I purchased recently at the downtown market I was able to identify the following:
- Cassia (Cinnamon bark)
- Bay Leaf
- Mustard Seeds
- Tumeric
- Black peppercorn
- Loomi (dried lemon or black lemon)
- Dried Chili Peppers
- Cloves
- Cumin Seeds
- Dried Onion
I add cardamon as well depending on the dish. I admit I am an spice fanatic and treasure all my spices. I like to purchase them whole and grind them before use to preserve their flavor. If you would like to make your own kabsa spice take a teaspoon of all of the above and 1 crushed loomi (black lemon), 2 bay leafs and grind until fine in a spice grinder.
And when you can get a kilo of baharat that can last for months for less than $5 why not? Well maybe not everywhere you can find it that inexpensive but here in Riyadh we were able to hustle the price. But when cardamon (one of the most expensive spices in the world, next to saffron) is added trust me it makes up for all we saved.
What is your favorite spice to cook with?
