Lebanese 7-Spice Mixture (Sabe Bharat)

Adapted from Feast: Food of the Islamic World by Anissa Helou.

While Helou’s recipe calls for pre-ground spices — and of course that’s fine — this recipe calls for whole spices when possible, so the mixture is gorgeously fresh and aromatic when first mixed. If you go our route, you’ll need a spice grinder or coffee grinder dedicated to grinding spices. Or maybe you’ll love this down-to-earth, cast-iron manual spice grinder from Germany, with a nice small footprint so you can keep it handy on your countertop.

Makes about 1/4 cup.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon black peppercorns

1 tablespoon allspice berries

1 teaspoon coriander seeds

1 teaspoon whole cloves

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Instructions

Place the peppercorns, allspice berries, coriander seeds and cloves in a spice grinder or coffee grinder dedicated to grinding spices and grind to a fine powder. Add the cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg, and give a whirl to combine. Store in an airtight container.