SABE’ BHARAT
LEBANON
This is a Lebanese/Syrian mixture that varies slightly from one spice merchant to another, or from one butcher to another—many like to make their own—and even from family to family if they make their own. You can buy it premade, either in a package or loose from a mahmassa (which translates as “roaster,” but is a term to describe spice merchants), where they roast, grind, and mix their own spices. Obviously the one from a mahmassa will be better and fresher than prepacked commercial brands even if some of these are pretty good. You can also mix your own following the recipe below, which is my mother’s, or have the spice merchant prepare the mixture to your own recipe. In prewar Aleppo, I used to buy Lena Antaki’s Syrian 7-spice mixture from one of the Hilali spice merchants in the old souk, sadly completely destroyed now. I never wrote down her recipe, but it is headier than the Lebanese mixture and I remember it including galangal, and actually being made with more than seven spices.
MAKES ABOUT ¼ CUP (25 G)
1 tablespoon finely ground black pepper
1 tablespoon ground allspice
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Mix all the spices well in a medium bowl. Transfer to an airtight container and store away from both heat and light.