yotam ottolenghi's baharat spice mix

Yotam Ottolenghi's baharat spice mix
Baharat is a Middle Eastern blend of spices popular from Turkey to Egypt and Iran used in a wide variety of dishes from soups, rice and tabbouleh to tomato-based stews and tagines.

I was planning on making the beef and lamb meatballs with lemon broad beans from Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi's superb Jerusalem cookbook. The meatballs are spiced with fragrant baharat, which you can buy from the Ottolenghi online store. However the recipe is so easy and I do have a spice grinder, that it seemed easier to make it myself.

A simple combination of black peppercorns, coriander seeds, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, cumin, cardamom and nutmeg is fragrant and subtle, very similar to garam masala.

The full recipe can be found on the alternative newspaper, LA Weekly food website in a review of the cookbook. Very lovely it is too!

6 comments:

o cozinheiro este algarve said...

Must try this.It sounds very similar to my favourite spice blend Ras al Hanout but minus the turmeric cinnamon and ginger."Jerusalem" is on my Wish list.

Liz Thomas said...

I just love Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi's books. I'm off to make some Baharat spice right now!

Thanks for the reminder
Liz

Anonymous said...

What spice grinder do you use? Have been trying to find one, but there are so many options that I don't know where to start!

Marmaduke Scarlet said...

I know what you mean about the whole variety of grinders out there! I actually spent quite some time evaluating them and ended up spending probably more than I wanted to, but since it is an investment and portable (as I can take it to cooking demos), I went for the Cuisinart SG20 (retailing at about 50 quid). It is absolutely brilliant for both grinding spices and making curry pastes. Definitely worth it!
http://www.johnlewis.com/cuisinart-sg20-electric-spice-and-nut-grinder/p435503

Anonymous said...

Thank you!

Marmaduke Scarlet said...

You're welcome!

I did find that there are cheaper types but most of the online reviews weren't very positive - many of them broke within months. I know some people use coffee grinders ... but they're not good if you want to make a wet paste (as I know to my cost!). The good thing about the one I suggest is that it has two detachable bowls for grinding. And they have plastic lids, so you could in theory put them in the fridge!