Baharat

Not to be confused with Bharat.

A small jar of homemade Gulf-style baharat

Bahārāt (Arabic: بَهَارَات) is a spice mixture or blend used in Middle Eastern, Turkish, and Greek cuisine. Bahārāt is the Arabic word for 'spices' (the plural form of bahār 'spice'). The mixture of finely ground spices is often used to season lamb, fish, chicken, beef, and soups and may be used as a condiment.

Ingredients

Ingredients for a Gulf-style baharat

Typical ingredients of baharat may include:

• Allspice
• Black peppercorns
• Cardamom seeds
• Cassia bark
• Cloves
• Coriander seeds
• Cumin seeds
• Nutmeg
• Turmeric
• Saffron
• Ginger
• Dried red chili peppers or paprika

Other variants

Turkish baharat includes mint in the largest proportion. In Tunisia, baharat refers to a simple mixture of dried rosebuds and ground cinnamon, often combined with black pepper. In the Arab states of the Persian Gulf, loomi (dried black lime) and saffron may also be used for the kebsa spice mixture (also called "Gulf baharat").

A typical recipe for baharat is a mixture of the following finely ground ingredients:

• 4 parts black pepper
• 3 parts coriander seeds
• 3 parts cinnamon
• 3 parts cloves
• 4 parts cumin seeds
• 1 part cardamom pods
• 3 parts nutmeg
• 6 parts paprika

The mixture can be rubbed into meat or mixed with olive oil and lime juice to form a marinade.

See also

• Ras el hanout
• Advieh
• Arab cuisine
• Cuisine of Syria
• Garam masala