The all-round talent of Arabic cuisine is called Baharat and should not be missing from an oriental spice bazaar or in your kitchen. Translated, the exotic name, which sounds like 1001 Nights, simply means “spice”. But the versatile and finely coordinated flavors represent a culinary world full of possibilities!
AROMA AND USE
Our Baharat gives your dishes that typical oriental taste. To evoke this association, we combined warm, earthy notes with piquant spiciness and used typical Arabic spices. Cumin and black cumin taste rather bitter, which is why they are complemented by the sweetness of Ceylon cinnamon and paprika. Cardamom also provides freshness, which rounds off the special taste of the Baharat.
In the kitchen, meat and fish are the best basic ingredients for the spicy baharat. In principle, all ingredients that are on the menu in oriental countries are suitable. Stews and soups based on lentils, for example, benefit from the slight spiciness and distinctive spice notes. You can also marinate delicious chicken legs from the oven with Baharat and fine olive oil.
THE HISTORY OF BAHARAT
Our current understanding of oriental cuisine includes several individual and yet related regional cuisines. Baharat was originally a specialty of Arabia, which spread with its campaigns and conquests across the Middle East and into North Africa. The red-brown spice mixture is now also used in Libya, Israel, Tunisia and Iran.
Our delicious baharat, which we use to season and enjoy, used to fulfill a much more important role: Due to the climatic conditions in oriental countries, people were desperately looking for ways to preserve food. Spices were one of the obvious solutions to this problem, so their taste was just a pleasant addition to the preservative properties. From today's perspective we can only say: What a stroke of luck! Because we would no longer like to imagine the recipes of the Arab countries without the intense aromas of the Baharat. For us, the shelf life is only of secondary importance, because with this taste there is nothing left of the oriental feast anyway.
ORIENTAL COOKING WITH BAHARAT
What do you know about oriental cuisine? If you don't happen to stock up on suitable cookbooks or have friends with Arabic roots, there's certainly still a lot for you to discover. Compared to Italian or Indian cuisine, oriental dishes - apart from the German kebab - are not yet as well known here. We think this should definitely change! Because the diversity and intensity of the different national cuisines inspires us just as much as the authentic Baharat.
Classic dishes in which the spicy spice mixture is traditionally used are stews with lamb. Beef also harmonizes with the warm notes of Organic Baharat. However, it is not just a meat seasoning, as the different flavors of typical vegetables (especially root vegetables) are also highlighted by the oriental spice mixture. For example, we love mezze, mixed starters comparable to Italian antipasti that can be served both vegetarian and with meat. Typical ingredients for this are fried eggplant and zucchini slices. You can sprinkle these with our Baharat before serving or mix the spice mixture with (bread) flour and coat the vegetables in it before baking. Yummy!
BAHARAT – THE CURRY OF THE ORient!
To emphasize the extraordinary importance of Baharat in oriental cuisine, you can compare its properties with Indian curry: Both spice mixtures are available in different versions (according to family recipes or the region of origin) and they consist of a large number of original individual spices. There are also parallels in its application: Baharat, like its curry predecessor Garam Masala, is used in soups, sauces, stews and stir-fries. Only the flavors are very different. With the Baharat you can give every dish the taste of the Orient!
Ingredients: Paprika*, cumin*, black pepper*, coriander seeds*, Ceylon cinnamon*, black cumin*, allspice*, garlic*, cardamom*, cloves*, mace*.
*from controlled organic cultivation. Certification: CH-BIO-006
