Baharat – A Life of Spice part 2

Most people seem to agree on the ingredients for za’atar  – my previous post – but that’s not the case for Baharat. Baharat means spices in Arabic so I guess it’s no surprise that there are countless versions of it.  The main ingredients are pretty much agreed on – black pepper, cumin, paprika,  coriander…but depending on the country, it may vary. Turkish baharat often has dried mint in it and Persian has saffron and dried lime. Baharat can be used for all kinds of dishes, be it meat, fish, pulses, vegetables, soups…. You can use it as a marinade or dry rub and, as with the za’atar, just mix some with a little salt and olive oil and soak up the flavour with pita or chunks of bread.   The spices used in this mixture give layers of deep warm flavours, which will magically transport you to the backstreets of an oriental bazaar somewhere in the heart of the Middle East.

Making this  spice mix will take no time at all and it will keep for months. The spices in it are all well known and if you don’t aready have them on your shelf then they are easy to find.  Use whole spices where possible and dry roast for a few minutes them to extract their flavour. Don’t take your eyes off them … and keep tossing them around in the pan till they are roasted but not burnt. Your kitchen will smell amazing!

Baharat

2 tbs black pepper

2 tbs paprika (I used smoked)

1 tbs coriander seeds

1 tbs cinnamon

1 tbs cloves

1.5 tbs cumin

1/2 tsp cardamom

2 tsp nutmeg

Dry roast the cumin, coriander and cloves. Combine with remaining spices and  grind in a spice grinder or, for a bit of arm exercise, in a pestle and mortar. Breathe in the smell….wonderful!

 

This isn’t spicy in the way of hot spicy but it does have tons of flavour so you won’t need to add much more other than salt when cooking. So try spicing up soups, tomato sauce, chickpeas, kebabs, roast chicken or a stew of any kind. I made a chicken dish with it that could be adapted in many ways.  I made this one below with potatoes and fennel but it works perfectly with just potatoes. Or just make the chicken and serve it over rice or couscous, or stuffed inside pita with salad. 

       Oven Baked Baharat Chicken with Fennel and Potatoes

• 1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs,
• 3  tsps baharat
• approx I tsp salt
• 1 clove garlic
• A few good glugs of olive oil
• sesame seeds
• 3/4  preserved lemon  finely chopped ( or fresh lemon juice if you still haven’t made the preserved lemons)
• 1 chili ( optional but for me essential)
• potatoes
• 1 fennel bulb sliced

Marinate the chicken pieces in the olive oil/baharat/garlic/salt mixture for about an hour. Parboil the potatoes and steam the fennel so it is just slightly cooked. Heat some olive oil in a pan and brown the chicken pieces on both sides. Add the preserved lemon and toss around briefly. Sliced the parboiled potatoes, put them in a baking dish, place the fennel on top, followed by the chicken and lemon and all the juices from the pan. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and cook at 180/350 degrees for about 35 – 40 mins.

 

A life of spice or the spice of life? From my experience, the humblest of ingredients can be turned into something delicious and exciting by adding some well balanced spices. And baharat…..just play with it….it’s got them all!