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An all purpose Arabian spice blend

Baharat is a spice blend used in Middle Eastern and Greek cuisine. Baharat is the Arabic word for spices. The mixture of finely ground spices is often used to season lamb, fish, chicken, beef, and soups and adds an aromatic, warm, and sweet flavor to your dish. It also tastes great on your pizza.

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By Mr. Golpar

The word baharat is thought to come from the Arabic word that means spice. It is said that the seasoning has originated in the North African regions, but it is mostly used in Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the Middle East, particularly in Lebanon, Syria, Israel and Jordan. In Israel this spice blend is known to have been introduced by the community of Jews that came from Iraq.

Like most traditional spice blends, there are certain core ingredients that make up the base of the mix, but there are a wide variety of local variations as well where certain ingredients differ slightly. For instance, the Turkish and Arabic version of the spice blend is largely the same but the Turkish version typically contains a dash of dried mint.

In most cases, the spices come together to create a warm and aromatic mixture with strong earthy and smoky characteristics. It is not a spicy blend and can work with a wide variety of dishes.

Baharat is also commonly known as “Lebanese 7-spice”. This blend has fewer ingredients than the Moroccan blend ras el hanout, but similarly depends on a fine balance of spicy, sweet, bitter, hot, smoky, floral and pungent. The Baharat blend we sell is based on the Lebanese seven spice.

Lebanese-style baharat, which is usually a vibrant brick-red to burgundy colour, typically includes all spice, black pepper, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, turmeric and ginger. Sometimes the blend has more than seven ingredients and also contains chili or coriander. Turkish baharat often includes dried mint, while the version used in North Africa is a simplified blend of cinnamon, dried rose petals and black pepper.

Traditionally, baharat is used for seasoning meats such as lamb or chicken but it can also be used on fish and vegetables. It is a perfect all-purpose spice blend that can be thrown into almost any dish to uplift the flavor. Baharat is a Middle Eastern staple in the kitchen. Much like salt and pepper is in most Western homes.

Because most of the spices in the mix are popular around the world, baharat can be used in many western dishes as well. You can use it for stir-frying meat and vegetables as well as for adding flavor to your soups and marinades. Consider frying the spice mix in oil to release the flavors and then using the oil to rub meat or vegetables with on the grill.

Baharat goes great with lamb, chicken, beef, pork, fatty fish (such as mackerel, salmon and sardines), lentils, rice, couscous, hummus, roast potato, bread, chickpeas, tomato, onion, garlic, lemon, cucumber, eggplant, zucchini, pine nuts, parsley, mint and yoghurt dips.