Spice Mixtures

Spice Mixtures

Chili Powder – is a combination of ground spices and dried herbs. It can contain all or only some of the following and in varying ratios.

Allspice Black Pepper Cayenne Pepper Ground Coriander Ground Cloves Dried Chilies Ground Cumin Dried Oregano Paprika Garlic Powder Ground Mustard Seeds Tumeric

Chinese 5-Spice Powder –contains cinnamon, star anise, fennel seeds, cloves, and Szechuan peppercorns. When purchasing, choose the most finely ground and the one palest in color.

Curry Powder – usually cumin seeds, coriander seeds, mustard seeds, dried red chilies, cinnamon, turmeric, and ground ginger. May also have paprika, cloves, saffron, fenugreek, cardamom, or fresh curry leaves.

Garam Masala – comes from north India where it is home-ground from three to eight of the spices known as “warm” spices in the Ayur Veda book of medicine. These are dried chiles, black peppercorns, cinnamon, mace, nutmeg, cloves, coriander seeds and cumin seeds.

Pie spice – A traditional mixture of ground sweet spices, usually allspice, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, mace, and nutmeg.

Quatre Epices – Peppercorns, ground nutmeg, ground cinnamon, whole cloves, and ginger.

Curry Powders or Pastes – The English word curry comes from the Tamil work kari which means sauce, because curry powers flavor mostly sauces. In India the curries, once powdered, belong to the general category of “masalas” or spice blends, which are prepared from ground ingredients indigenous to the diverse regions of the country.

Where in India curries always contain a certain amount of sweet spices, in Thailand, only the Muslim curry contains some of those, in addition to a relatively lare amount of hot chiles and strong spices.

In Thailand the mixture of curry spices is always combined with some liquid to become a paste before being added to a food preparation. When you purchase curry powder, choose one imported from India.

As curry powders contain all kinds of starchy and ligneous material, it is essential to cook them gently in oil or clarified butter to tame the raw taste of some of them. Never add curry powder to any dish without precooking it in a fat or making a paste of it with water or broth.

Ras el hanout – is used primarily in Morocco and all over the Maghreb (the north coast of Africa). It is a wonderfully fragrant powder with out which the traditional couscous has no soul. Depending on which country (morocco, Algeria, or Tunisia), the ras el hanout will vary in composition, from twelve spices in Algeria to twenty to twenty-four spices in Morocco. In Tunisia the spices are fewer but one adds dried pulverized rosebuds.