coriander

In Ancient times, the spice trade was a melting pot of activity with its daily bustle of merchants selling their goods to distant travelers, bringing news from across the far reaches of East Asia all the way to the markets of the Middle East and Northern Africa. To this day, spice markets still exist in some parts of the world where the tradition never wears off. The fragrant smell of spices wafting through the air still excites the senses compelling you like a magnet to follow the scent to the spice merchants stalls.

For the past 350 years, the spice bazaar is still going strong in the high-domed ceiling of the Istanbul Spice Market in Turkey. In fact, this is a country that can boast the heaviest use of spices. Continue reading →

In most Arab cuisines, you will taste an intensely flavorful spice mixture called baharat which in Arabic simply means spice. This aromatic blend is widely used in recipes in the Arabian Gulf States as a meat rub or marinade. The ingredients can vary according to different regions, but it usually contains warm, hot and sweet spices with resinous herbs. The most common blend includes black pepper, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, cumin, nutmeg and paprika.

A few fabulous way to use baharat would be to add it to soups, stews and/or sauces. I like using baharat when making rice dishes and sometimes just as a table condiment.
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