Spice Mixtures

[Guest guest]

I enjoy trying out new spice mixtures, I never tire of kitchen alchemy. I ran across this web page and figured others may enjoy it also. (Hope it comes out right)

Source: http://www-ang.kfunigraz.ac.at/~katzer/engl/generic_frame.html?Tama_ind.html

Spice Mixture Index

In this index, I shall list all spice blends mentioned in my pages.

Descriptions are very basic here; to learn more about any mixture,

read the article on the corresponding single spice.

Baharat

—

Berbere

—

Bouquet

garni —

Bumbu

—

Chinese

Five Spice powder —

Curry

powder —

Dukka

—

Fines

Herbes —

Gâlat

dagga —

Garam

masala —

Herbes

de Provence —

Jerk

—

Khmeli-suneli

—

Mole

—

Panch

phoron —

Quatre

épices —

Ras

el Hanout —

Sambaar

Powder —

Shichimi

togarashi —

Thai

curry pastes —

Worcestershire

Sauce —

Zahtar

—

Zhoug

Baharat [بهارات] (see paprika)

A mixture common to flavour mutton in the countries surrounding

the Persian Gulf; usually, the powder is shortly fried in butter before

usage. Baharat contains, besides pungent paprika,

chiles

and black

pepper, a variety of aromatic sweet spices (cloves,

cinnamon,

nutmeg

and cardamom),

furthermore cumin

and coriander.

Berbere [በርበሬ] (aka berebere, see long

pepper)

Ethiopian cuisine at its best, combining elements from both

Arabic and Indian cooking styles to this highly aromatic and very hot

mixture: Long

pepper and chiles

make up for pungency, whereas cardamom,

allspice

and others cause a sweet and harmonic fragrance.

Bouquet garni

(see parsley)

A bundle of fresh herbs, tied together to allow easy removal. In

France, it nearly always contains parsley

and thyme;

furthermore, chervil

is a frequent component and sometimes bay

leaves or even orange

peel. Variants are used in Germany and Italy..

Bumbu (see lemon

grass)

This term refers to Indonesian spice pastes of varying pungency,

which are composed individually for each dish. By mass, they mostly

consist of onions,

but their taste is usually dominated by chiles

and garlic;

further common ingredients are lemon

grass, greater

galangale, ginger

and Indonesian

bay-leaves. Analogous pastes used in the regional cuisine of Bali

are called jangkap; see lesser

galangale for an example.

Chinese Five Spice powder (wu xiang fen [五香粉]) (see star

anise)

This very aromatic and intensive mixture combines star

anise with cassia,

cloves,

fennel

and sichuan

pepper. It is not hot, but to be used with care.

Curry powder (see curry

leaves)

A substitute designed for British colonial officers used to

Indian food. The mixture tries to imitate Indian taste by massive

amounts of coriander

and cumin

besides some chiles,

but has little (or nothing) to do with curry

leaves. It may be rather hot, but usually it is not.

Dukka (see thyme)

An effective, spicy recipe from Egypt, combining nuts with pepper,

cumin

and thyme.

The mixture may either be used as a seasoning for mutton stews or,

mixed with olive

oil, as a spread for Egypt white bread.

Fines Herbes

(see chives)

This classical French composition combines four fresh herbs (chives,

parsley,

chervil

and tarragon).

Mostly suited for very fine and delicate dishes.

Gâlat dagga

(see grains

of paradise)

This Tunisian “five spice mixture” combines the pungent tones of

pepper

and grains

of paradise with the rich scent of cinnamon,

nutmeg

and cloves.

Moderately hot, very well suited for Arabic stews.

Garam masala [गरम मसाला, گرم مصالحہ, گرم مسالحہ]

(see cumin)

Aromatic mixture based on cumin

and coriander

in combination with sweet spices (cinnamon,

cardamom,

cloves

and Indian

bay-leaves). Basically Persian in origin, it is now indispensable

for Northern Indian cuisine. Rather mild.

Herbes de

Provence (see lavender)

Combination of several Mediterranean herbs and fennel

seeds; the specific Provençal character is determined by lavender

flowers. From Southern France.

Jerk (see allspice)

A fiery and aromatic spice paste from Jamaica. Jerk is

used to marinate chicken and pork barbecues and combines the extreme

heat of Caribbean chiles

(the hottest in the world!) with the harmonic fragrance of allspice

and various herbs.

Khmeli-suneli [ხმელი-სუნელი]

(siehe marjoram)

A mixture of various dried herbs (marjoram, basil,

savory,

dill

and others) with pepper

and so-called “Imeretic Saffron” (see safflower)

used in Georgia for braised mutton, and especially for Georgian sauces

which have a unique flavour both sour-fruity and spicy.

Mole (see paprika

for general information, sesame

about mole Poblano and Mexican

pepper-leaf about mole verde)

A group of spicy sauces from México, made up from herbs,

aromatic spices (cinnamon,

cloves,

allspice),

ground nuts, oil, possibly chocolate, tortillas,

broth and of course several types of chiles.

Fascinating aroma and varying degree of hotness.

Panch phoron

(see nigella)

Classical “five spice” mixture of Bengal; the Bengali are famous

all over India for their distinct cuisine. Panch phoron owes its

special taste to the antagonism of sweet fennel

and bitter fenugreek

seeds besides cumin,

nigella

and radhuni, a local spice with celery

flavour which is often substituted by black

mustard seeds. Not hot.

Quatre épices

(see nutmeg)

Somewhat antiquated, but still much used mixture of white (or

black) pepper

with several aromatic spices (nutmeg,

cloves,

and ginger).

It may substitute pepper in nearly every dish, imparting a richer

taste. From old (pre-revolutionary) France.

Ras el Hanout

[راس الحانوت]

(see cubeb

pepper)

No fixed recipe, but a generic name for Moroccan spice mixtures.

Contains sweet (cinnamon,

cloves),

hot (pepper,

grains

of paradise) and bitter (cubeb

pepper) elements.

Sambaar Powder [சாம்பார் பொடி]

(see cumin)

Indispensable for the authentic taste of South Indian cuisine.

Besides the ubiquitous cumin,

it contains several other spices (black

mustard seeds, fenugreek

seeds, chiles)

and large amounts of roasted lentils or small beans. Fairly hot.

Shichimi

togarashi [七味

唐辛子]

(see sichuan

pepper)

A Japanese spice mixture served to soups and other tasty dishes.

Hot chiles

and sichuan

pepper are combined with sea grass, sesame

seeds and orange

peel. Fairly hot.

Thai curry pastes (prik kaeng or prik gaeng) [พริกแกง] (see coconut)

Pungent dried fish and not less aromatic shrimp paste are ground

together with fresh chiles,

fragrant leaves (lemon

grass, coriander,

kaffir

lime) and rhizomes (galanga,

turmeric,

fingerroot).

Ranging between fairly hot and very hot.

Worcestershire Sauce

(see cloves)

An Anglo-Indian sauce, whose exact composition depends on the

manufacturer. The core taste is formed by tamarind,

medium-hot paprika,

cloves

and possibly soy sauce or fish sauce.

Zahtar [زعتر, זעתר]

(see sumac)

A condiment from Jordan, much used for fried or barbecued

mutton. Its unusual taste derives from nutty sesame,

aromatic thyme

and sour sumac.

Zhoug or zhug

(see coriander)

The well-known spice paste and relish from Yemen is prepared

from both coriander

leaves and fruits; furthermore, it contains fresh green chiles,

garlic,

cardamom,

black

pepper and olive

oil.

-- Peace!!

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