Tag: spice
Xawaash
Xawaash
Xawaash (pronounced hawaaj) is a complex spice blend used in Somali cuisine; much like berbere is used in Ethiopian cuisine. It is used in dishes such as suugar, a meat and vegetable stew, and suugo, a Somali pasta sauce. I highly recommend that you lightly dry toast the whole spices. It completely changes the flavor, making the xawaash more aromatic.
Equipment
- Spice grinder
Ingredients
Whole Spices
- 3 tbsp cumin seeds
- 3 tbsp coriander seeds
- 1 tbsp fenugreek seeds
- 1 tbsp black peppercorns
- 2 tsp green cardamom pods
- 1 tsp whole cloves
- 1 cinnamon stick
Ground Spices
- 1 tbsp ground sage
- 1 tbsp ground ginger
- 1 tbsp turmeric
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg
Instructions
- Dry toast the whole spices in a skillet over medium heat for 3 minutes.
- Grind the whole spice in a spice grinder. Mix together with the other ground spices. Store in a container for up to 3 months.
Jamaican Curry Powder
Jamaican Curry Powder
So, what’s the difference between Jamaican and Indian curry powder? A couple of things: Indian curry powder is coriander dominant while Jamaican is turmeric dominant. Indian curry powder also has cinnamon and cardamon. All the other spices used in the curry powders are similar.The beauty of making your own spice blend is that you can make it to your liking. Want it spicier? add more cayenne. Want to add salt to it? Be my guest. I prefer to not add any salt to my spice blends. I like to adjust the salt to recipes separately. You don’t have to toast the whole spices used in this recipe. It just gives it a stronger aromatic flavor. You can also use powdered form of the whole spices if you’d like. Unless you have beef hammers like myself, I highly recommend getting a small coffee grinder and using it to grind your spices instead of a mortar and pestal. It takes 10 seconds to grind them as opposed to 10 minutes. But I grind old school.
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 tbsp ground turmeric
- 1 tbsp coriander seeds
- 1 tbsp cumin seeds
- 2 tsp allspice
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 2 tsp mustard seed
- 2 tsp fenugreek seeds
- 1 1/2 tsp white pepper
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
Instructions
- In a small skillet on medium heat, toast dry the coriander seeds, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, and the fenugreek seeds for 3 minutes.
- In either a mortar and pestal or a spice grinder, grind your toasted spices into a powder. It will take about 10 minutes if doing it by hand; about 10 seconds if using a spice grinder.
- Mix all of the spices together.
- Let’s get cooking!
