Baharat

In Arabic, “baharat” simply means “spices” and can refer to any number of different blends, each tailored to a specific dish or ingredients.

“There’s a baharat for everything, and it varies a lot in different regions,” said Freda Nokaly, a founder, with Doaa Elkady, of Spice Tree Organics, a spice-blending company based in New York.

Their blend (called buharat, an alternate spelling) reflects their Egyptian ancestry, highlighting a combination of musky cumin and floral, citrusy coriander that’s been sweetened with cinnamon, cardamom and clove and spiked with black pepper and bay leaf.

Unlike some other baharat mixes, Nokaly and Elkady’s version doesn’t call for toasting the spices first, which gives their blend a subtle but distinct brightness.

Use it in meatballs and pilafs, in marinades and sauces for grilled meats and fish and in the traditional layered rice dish called maqluba.

4 teaspoons/10 grams cumin

seeds

1 tablespoon/4 grams

coriander seeds 1 teaspoon/4 grams black

peppercorns 2 (2-inch/5-gram) cinnamon

sticks, broken into pieces 2½ teaspoons/6 grams green

cardamom pods 1½ teaspoons/2 grams whole

allspice berries

1 teaspoon/2 grams whole

cloves

1 whole nutmeg (2 grams) 4 bay leaves

Instructions: Place all the ingredients in a spice grinder, clean coffee grinder or mortar and pestle and grind until fine.

If you like, you can strain the mix through a fine-mesh strainer to remove any coarse bits, but this is optional.

Store in an airtight container in a cool, dark place for up to 1 year.

Yield: ⁄3 cup

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Adapted from Doaa Elkady and Freda Nokaly, Spice Tree Organics