I'm running low on my all-time favorite spice blend, so off to make a fresh batch. This spice blend is popular in the nations of Syria, Lebanon and Israel. I have been to Beirut, but quite honestly, didn't find the foods there to be very different (to my palate) from the foods in Greece, Turkey and Iran. They all do a version of stuffed grape leaves, hummus, tabouleh, grilled kibbeh meat kebabs and rice dishes with lentils, nuts and dried fruit.
One flavor I associate with Middle Eastern dining is the taste of cumin in their dishes. I've mentioned before how much we love a chicken Shawarma spice mixture we used to buy at the Phoenicia Deli/Importer on Westheimer in Houston, TX. I believe the family that owned it was Egyptian, but not certain about that. My huge 1# bag of the spice was getting real low so I decided I better try to come up with my own version before it was totally gone and I would lose the capability to compare any trials to the flavor of the real thing! Houston is 3 hours away, so buying another isn't an option and they do not have a website for placing orders. 😦
So I took my almost container of this spice and studied/smelled it closely. First I went for visual clues as to its possible ingredients. I could clearly see black pepper in it. It had a yellow hue, so turmeric was there. I could smell and taste cumin in it. I could see bits of coriander seed husk in it. Then I tasted it over and over and gave up of gleaning further information. I decided I'd just go for it and mix up the few things I felt certain were there. I could definitely detect a little "bite" on my tongue, so I also included a bit of cayenne to my final recipe.
I usually start with equal amounts of spices when creating a blend, backing off a bit on cayenne, as I con't likek things too hot, and their shawarma blend was not "hot" at all really. When stirred and tasted, something was missing. Seemed a bit flat. So I decided spunked it up with a little onion and garlic powder. A little of those never hurt anything! Finally I was getting real close to the real blend! Here's the final result of my endeavor. It does not disappoint.
INGREDIENTS:
3 T. ground cumin seed
2 T. ground coriander seed
1 T. turmeric
1 T. black pepper
1 tsp. cayenne
2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
DIRECTIONS: Mix all on a paper plat. Curl/fold plate and pour contents into a lidded jar. Store spices in a dark cabinet. This is sprinkled on broiled chicken or chicken that you plan to grill outside for the famous Shawarma chicken sandwich wraps. I find I also like it on a plain cooked ground beef patty or broiled fish, on oven-roasted chicken and even roasted vegetables! I like it so much I always put 1-2 T. of it into a double batch of my homemade mayonnaise recipe. Mmm. That is good on all sandwiches and makes a great dressing for your meat wraps!
NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 8 T. or 24 tsp. One tsp. contains:
7.2 cals, 0.27 g fat, 1.28 g carbs, 0.47 g fiber, 0.81 g NET CARBS, 0.27 g protein, trace sodium
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