Baharat

Allspice leads it, and the whole spices are toasted and ground together rather than blended from jars.

Vegan.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons allspice berries
• 2 tablespoons black peppercorns
• 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
• 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
• 2 teaspoons cloves
• 1 teaspoon cardamom seeds
• 1 cinnamon stick, broken
• 1 whole nutmeg, grated

Method

1. ALLSPICE LEADS IT, AND THE WHOLE SPICES ARE TOASTED AND GROUND TOGETHER RATHER THAN BLENDED FROM JARS. Three tablespoons of allspice berries against two of pepper and one each of the rest -- it is the largest single component and the blend should smell of it first. And everything goes into the pan whole, together, then into the grinder together. Pre-ground spices stirred together in a bowl make a mixture that smells of dust within a fortnight, because the volatile oils went off in the jars months before; toasted whole and ground on the day, the same seven things make something that fills a room.
2. THEY ARE TOASTED IN ONE PAN AND THAT IS A COMPROMISE WORTH MAKING. Strictly, cumin wants less heat than allspice and cloves want less still. Over a medium-low heat, moving constantly for three or four minutes until the smell lifts, no single spice burns and the small unevenness matters less than the gain from toasting at all.
3. THE NUTMEG IS GRATED IN AFTER GRINDING, NOT TOASTED. It is oily and soft and will gum up a grinder and scorch in a pan. Grated straight into the finished powder.
4. THE CINNAMON IS BROKEN SMALL FIRST. A whole stick will jam a spice grinder and come out in splinters. Snapped into pieces the size of a fingernail before it goes in.
5. IT IS COOLED COMPLETELY BEFORE GRINDING AND BEFORE JARRING. Warm spices grind to a paste rather than a powder, and warm powder sweats in a sealed jar and cakes solid.
6. IT IS MADE IN SMALL QUANTITIES AND USED WITHIN TWO MONTHS. This quantity is about twenty uses. Making a large jar defeats the entire reason for grinding it fresh.
7. The cinnamon stick SNAPPED into fingernail-sized pieces.
8. The allspice, peppercorns, coriander, cumin, cloves, cardamom and cinnamon put in a dry pan TOGETHER.
9. Toasted over a MEDIUM-LOW heat, moving constantly, 3 to 4 MINUTES, until the smell lifts. Nothing allowed to darken.
10. Tipped out and COOLED COMPLETELY.
11. Ground to a fine powder in a spice grinder.
12. The whole nutmeg GRATED into the finished powder.
13. COOLED again if the grinder warmed it, then jarred.
14. TESTED: it should smell of allspice first. If pepper or cumin dominates, the proportions slipped.
15. Stored sealed and away from light. Used within 2 months.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

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