by Anissa Helou
1½ medium black stone flowers or patthar ke phool (see Glossary)
1 small bay leaf
Stir the spices in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat for a minute or two, or until fragrant. Let cool, then transfer to a spice grinder and grind all the ingredients together. Store in an airtight jar kept in a dark cool place for up to one year.
Qatari Biryani Masala
QATAR
This masala is specific to Qatar. It was given to me by Aisha al-Tamimi, Maryam Abdallah’s sister, who has taken over Maryam’s mantle as Qatar’s foremost celebrity chef—Maryam was Qatar’s first-ever TV chef. Both Maryam and Aisha have taught me most of what I know about the food and culinary heritage of their country as well as how to cook many of their wonderful dishes.
MAKES ABOUT 1½ CUPS (150 G)
¼ cup (12 g) coriander seeds
1 tablespoon whole cloves
1½ teaspoons fennel seeds
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
6 green cardamom pods
4 cinnamon sticks
2 star anise
1 whole nutmeg
4 shards blade mace
1 bay leaf
Grind all the ingredients together and store in an airtight jar kept in a dark cool place for up to one year, possibly longer.
Advieh
IRAN
The word advieh comes from the Arabic word for medicines (adwiyeh) and in Iran, it describes a spice mixture that is a little like the Indian garam masala. In fact, garam masala is derived from the Persian words garm, meaning “hot,” and masaleh, meaning “ingredients.” There are different regional adviehs, such as one from the Persian Gulf used in hearty dishes, another from the Central Provinces used in delicate dishes, and a fragrant one like the one below that is used to add a luxurious touch to rice dishes, including Jeweled Rice.
MAKES ABOUT ½ CUP (50 G)
⅓ cup (50 g) pistachios, coarsely ground
2 tablespoons raw cane sugar
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon ground dried rose petals
Good pinch of saffron threads, ground
Mix all the ingredients together in a medium bowl and transfer to a glass jar. Store air-tight in a dark place for up to one year, possibly longer. I usually keep mine in the freezer.
RAS EL-HANOUT
* * *
MOROCCO
Meaning “the head of the shop,” ras el-hanout is probably the most complex of all spice mixtures in this book. In her excellent book, Les Secrets de Cuisine en Terre Marocaine, the late Zette Guinaudeau-Franc lists no fewer than twenty-seven spices that go in the making of ras el-hanout. Unfortunately, Guinaudeau-Franc does not give a recipe and I doubt one can re-create the complex mixture that you can buy at good spice merchants in the medina in Fez or Marrakesh, so my advice is to source a good mix and to use it sparingly. In Morocco, ras el-hanout is used in game tagines, and in some sweet-savory dishes like M’ruziyah. It is also used to season Moroccan Kefta and the tagine that goes into Moroccan Pigeon Pie.
Yemeni Spice Mixture
YEMENI HAWAYEJ
YEMEN
Hawayej means “gathered stuff” in Yemen and describes a spice mixture that is mainly used for soups.
MAKES ABOUT 1¼ CUPS (125 G)
¼ cup (35 g) black peppercorns
⅓ cup (15 g) coriander seeds
⅓ cup (30 g) cumin seeds
2 tablespoons green cardamom pods
1 teaspoon whole cloves
5 teaspoons ground turmeric
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Toast the whole spices in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, stirring constantly, until fragrant. Let cool, then transfer to a food processor or spice grinder and process until finely ground. Transfer to a bowl. Stir in the turmeric and cinnamon. Store airtight in a glass jar and keep it in a cool dark place for up to one year, possibly longer.
Yemeni Mandi Spice Mixture
HAWAYEJ MANDI
YEMEN
This is a fairly simple spice mixture used in mandi, one of the Middle East’s most popular dishes. Mandi is originally from Yemen but is now found throughout the Arabian Gulf and as far north as Syria.
MAKES JUST UNDER 1 CUP (90 G)
¼ cup (20 g) green cardamom pods
¼ cup (20 g) whole cloves
4 teaspoons black peppercorns
2 whole nutmegs
8 bay leaves
2 tablespoons ground ginger
Put the whole spices and bay leaves in a food processor or spice grinder and process until finely ground. Transfer to a medium bowl and add the ground ginger. Mix well. Store airtight in a glass jar and keep it in a cool dark place for up to one year, possibly longer.
Somali Spice Mixture
SOMALIA
A slightly more complex mix than that for Yemeni mandi, this is used in Somali stews and soups.
MAKES ABOUT 1¼ CUPS (125 G)
½ cup (50 g) cumin seeds
½ cup (25 g) coriander seeds
2 tablespoons black peppercorns
1 tablespoon broken-up cinnamon bark
1 tablespoon green cardamom pods
1 teaspoon cloves
2 tablespoons ground turmeric
Toast the whole spices in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring constantly, until fragrant. Let cool, then transfer to a food processor or spice grinder and process until finely ground. Transfer to a large bowl and add the ground turmeric. Mix well. Store airtight in a glass jar and keep it in a cool dark place for up to one year, possibly longer.
Berbere Spice Mixture
ETHIOPIA | ERITREA | SOMALIA
An essential mix in Ethiopian, Eritrean, and Somali cooking, this mixture is rather subtle despite the number of spices used; and even though the cayenne pepper is the dominant spice, its heat is offset by the paprika.
MAKES ABOUT ¾ CUP (75 G)
½ teaspoon black peppercorns
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
¼ teaspoon cardamom seeds
¼ teaspoon coriander seeds
¼ teaspoon fenugreek seeds
2 whole cloves
¼ cup (30 g) cayenne pepper
¼ cup (30 g) paprika
¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Toast the whole spices in a medium skillet over medium heat, stirring constantly, for 2 to 3 minutes, until fragrant. Let cool, then transfer to a spice grinder or mini food processor. Process until fine, then transfer to a medium bowl. Add the ground spices and mix well. Store airtight in a glass jar and keep it in a cool dark place for up to one year, possibly longer.
Arabian Spice Mixture
B’ZAR
ARABIAN GULF
B’zar is an indispensable spice mixture in the Arabian Gulf, and shortly before Ramadan most households will get busy preparing their b’zar to last them not only the month of Ramadan but also the whole year. This recipe comes from my delightful friend, Maryam Abdallah, who was the first celebrity Qatari TV chef. I often eat at her home when I am in Doha and both she and her sister Aisha al-Tamimi, Qatar’s foremost celebrity chef, have taught me to make many Qatari dishes. The following recipe was handed down by their mother. Maryam buys her spices whole in the souk. She washes them at home and puts them out to dry in the sun before grinding them. She then portions them in bags, which she keeps in the freezer to take out when she needs to.
MAKES ABOUT 1½ CUPS (200 G)
½ cup (75 g) black peppercorns
½ cup (50 g) cumin seeds
½ cup (25 g) coriander seeds
2 tablespoons whole cloves
2 tablespoons broken Ceylon cinnamon sticks
2 tablespoons green cardamom pods
2 tablespoons small dried red chilies
2 whole nutmegs
2 heaping tablespoons ground ginger
2 tablespoons ground
turmeric
Put the whole spices in a food processor or spice grinder and process until finely ground. Transfer to a large bowl and add the ground ginger and turmeric. Mix well. Store airtight in a glass jar and keep it in a cool dark place for up to one year, possibly longer.
TUNISIAN B’HARAT
* * *
TUNISIA
B’harat means "spices" in Arabic and this Tunisian mixture is a simple 50/50 mélange of dried rosebuds and cinnamon that is used in both baking and cooking. You do not need a recipe here. Just grind as many rosebuds (removing the core and stem if any and just using the petals) as you need and mix with an equal quantity of ground cinnamon. Store in a cool dark place in a hermetically sealed glass jar.
Arabian Spice Mixture for Desserts
BHARAT AL-HELOU
ARABIAN GULF
It is not often that you see spice mixtures used in sweets, but here is one from the Arabian Gulf. In fact, many Arabian sweets are flavored with spices such as cinnamon, or cardamom and/or saffron, not to mention fragrant waters and sometimes mastic (see Morrocan Almond Spirals and Cornes de Gazelles), giving them an intriguing exotic taste.
MAKES 2¼ CUPS (225 G)
½ cup (50 g) cumin seeds
½ cup (75 g) black peppercorns
2 tablespoons green cardamom pods
2 tablespoons whole cloves
3 whole nutmegs
½ cinnamon stick
1 tablespoon ground fenugreek
½ cup (50 g) ground ginger
2 tablespoons ground turmeric
Grind the whole spices in a spice grinder or a food processor until very fine. Transfer to a large bowl and add the fenugreek, ground ginger, and turmeric. Mix well. Store in an airtight glass jar and keep it in a cool dark place for up to one year, possibly longer.
MOROCCAN SALT AND CUMIN MIXTURE
* * *
MOROCCO
Like Tunisian B’harat, this is a simple mixture of two ingredients in a ratio of 1:1. In this case it’s salt and cumin, to be served with mechoui and kebabs. Store in a cool dark place in a heremetically sealed glass jar.
Arabian Fish Spice Mixture
B’ZAR SEMACH
ARABIAN GULF
This b’zar is used specifically in fish dishes. It is a lot less complex than the one used for meat or vegetables but equally tasty. Gulf Arab cooks often use both b’zar and single spices to season their dishes to end up with a rather complex seasoning.
MAKES ABOUT 1 CUP (100 G)
½ cup (50 g) cumin seeds
½ cup (25 g) coriander seeds
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon finely ground black pepper
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon ground turmeric
Toast the cumin and coriander seeds in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, stirring constantly, until fragrant. Let cool, then transfer to a spice grinder and process until finely ground. Transfer to a large bowl. Add the ground cinnamon, pepper, ginger, and turmeric and mix well. Store in an airtight jar and keep it in a cool dark place for up to one year, possibly longer.
Dukkah
EGYPT
In Egypt, where dukkah (also spelled duqqa or doqqa) originates, people have it for breakfast or as a snack, using aysh baladi (thick pita made with whole wheat flour) or shami (the same pita but made with all-purpose flour) to dip into the mixture. Dukkah has now become global, with chefs and home cooks sprinkling it over grilled vegetables or meat or fish, as well as on salads.
MAKES ABOUT 8 CUPS (800 G)
1¼ ounces (40 g) fine sea salt
4 cups (200 g) coriander seeds, toasted
1⅓ cups (200 g) unsalted roasted peanuts
1⅓ cups (200 g) unsalted roasted chickpeas
1 cup (40 g) dried mint
¾ cup (125 g) toasted sesame seeds
Put all the ingredients in a food processor and process until coarsely ground. Store in an airtight glass jar and keep in a cool dark place for up to one year, possibly longer.
Yemeni Cilantro Chutney
Z’HOUG
YEMEN
Z’houg is a Yemeni relish or chutney and, as with dukkah, it has entered the mainstream in the West with chefs featuring it on their menus to go with grilled meats or as a spread in sandwiches, which is how it is used in Yemen, a little like the French use butter. I sometimes use it as a dip or even as a marinade. You can use green chilies here instead of red ones, but be sure to use a mix of mild and hot chilies so that the z’houg is not too fiery.
MAKES 2 CUPS (500 ML)
4 ounces (125 g) mild red chilies, seeded and cut into chunks
4 ounces (125 g) hot red chilies, seeded and cut into chunks
5 cloves garlic, peeled
½ bunch cilantro (3½ ounces/100 g), leaves stripped off the stems
½ bunch flat-leaf parsley (3½ ounces/100 g), leaves stripped off the stems
1 teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
2 tablespoons extra-virgin oil
Put the chilies and garlic in a food processor and grind until coarse. Add the herbs, spices, salt, pepper, and oil and continue processing until you have a lightly textured paste. Transfer to a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid. This chutney will keep in the refrigerator for about 2 weeks.
Harissa
MOROCCO
In Tunisia, harissa is served as a dip, drizzled with olive oil, and often garnished with canned tuna and olives. It is a fixture of most main meals, brought to the table with bread before any other food is served. The chilies used for harissa in Tunisia are very mild and I usually bring back some when I visit, but if I don’t have any I use a mixture of dried Mexican guajillo and árbol chilies to approximate the mild heat of Tunisian harissa.
MAKES 2 CUPS (500 ML)
5 ounces (150 g) dried guajillo chilies
½ ounce (15 g) dried árbol chilies
Boiling water
¼ cup (25 g) caraway seeds
10 cloves garlic, peeled
Sea salt
Extra-virgin olive oil, for covering the harissa
1. Pull the stems off the chilies. Shake out and discard the seeds. Rinse the chilies under cold water, then soak them in boiling water for about 30 minutes.
2. Put the caraway seeds in a food processor and process for a minute or so, then add the garlic and a little salt and process until the garlic is almost completely minced.
3. Drain the chilies. Add to the garlic and caraway seeds and add more salt to taste—the harissa needs to be salted enough without tasting salty. Process until you have a lightly textured paste—the chilies should not be completely pulverized.
4. Taste and add more salt if necessary. Spoon into a 1-pint (500 ml) glass jar. Pour in enough olive oil to completely cover the surface of the harissa. This will help preserve it—make sure you top up the oil every time you use some of the harissa. Well covered in oil, harissa will keep for months in the refrigerator.
Spicy Shrimp Sambal
SAMBAL TERASI
INDONESIA
Sambal is to Indonesians and Malaysians what harissa is to North Africans, an essential chili paste that is used as a sauce or dip as well as in cooking—except that there are endless variations on sambal. There is, however, a problem with making sambal in the West, and that is that the main type of mildly hot chilies used in Indonesia, known as lombok, are not easily available abroad. You can approximate the flavor by sourcing mild red chilies or making a mix of both mild and hot, remembering that the sauce should not be fiery and is used more like a condiment, to be eaten with boiled rice and/or curries and to flavor soups. I have even used red bell pepper and one or two bird’s eye chilies to add some heat. In Indonesia, you can watch women in the markets pulling the stems off the chilies so that cooks can grind them straightaway without having to trim them. And even today, and almost universally
in Indonesia, Indonesian cooks grind the ingredients for sambal in a large wide stone or earthenware mortar using a horizontal stone or wooden pestle. In the three weeks I was there, I saw only one cook using a food processor. All the others whom I met and watched ground the sambal ingredients in a mortar with a pestle. Serve this sambal with plain or fried rice, or a curry of your choice. You can also serve it with grilled meat or fish.
MAKES ABOUT ⅔ CUP (160 G)
5 mild red chilies, trimmed
1 bird’s eye chili, trimmed
1 small shallot, peeled
1 medium tomato (3½ ounces/100 g), quartered
1 tablespoon shrimp paste (terasi)
2 teaspoons chopped palm sugar or brown sugar
Sea salt
Juice of 3 limes
Put the chilies, shallot, tomato, shrimp paste, and palm sugar in a food processor and process until you have a slightly textured paste. Transfer to a medium mixing bowl. Add salt to taste and the lime juice. Mix well. Store in an airtight glass jar in the refrigerator where it will keep for a couple of days.
Chili and Tomato Sambal
SAMBAL BAJAK
INDONESIA
This sambal comes from Java and unlike the Spicy Shrimp Sambal, it is cooked slightly to produce a darker, richer mixture.
MAKES ABOUT 1 CUP (250 G)
5 fresh mild red chilies, seeded and sliced into rings
2 bird’s eye chilies
6 small shallots (4½ ounces/125 g total), peeled and quartered
1½ teaspoons chopped palm sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 bay leaves
2 stalks fresh lemongrass, smashed
½ inch (1 cm) fresh galangal, peeled and cut in very thin julienne
1 teaspoon tamarind paste, diluted in 2 tablespoons water