Baharat (Lebanese 7-Spice Blend Sabaa)

lebanese-sabaabaharat Lebanese seven spice (Sabaa Baharat) is a blend of spices that add warm, aromatic flavour to a range of dishes.

1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. ground allspice
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. ground nutmeg

Place all of the ingredients in a small bowl and mix together well. Store at room temperature in a sealed container.

You can also make this starting with whole spices in part or full - just use equal volumes of the ground form, or take a best-guess from whole ingredients. Start by gently toasting most of the spices (cumin, coriander, cloves, allspice, cinnamon stick) in a dry skillet/frying pan to bring out their flavour. Nutmeg can also be freshly grated but does not really need toasted.

Makes 7 tsp.

Cook's Notes: If using the spice blend to season ground meat, you typically use roughly 1 tsp. per 1 lb (450 g) of ground meat. Amounts used for other uses can vary.