This is a spice blend that is commonly used in the making of Palestinian fish dishes but can also be applied to non-fish things, such as eggs, or chickie. Credits: I learned about this originally in the cookbook Falastin (2020) but I wanted to document and expand on it here. It feels like an important spice blend to archive and continually document and express, and as it feels like a cultural heritage piece as well, I think it’s okay to outline it here, too.

Linguistics bit: Bahar = spice, Baharat = spices, Samak = fish. Arabic is a Noun Adjective ordered language, unlike English where the Adjective comes before the Noun.

Directions

All you need to do is figure out how much you want to make at once, and then go for it.

Proportions are roughly 1:2:2:2. The following makes 7 tsp cause basically 1+2+2+2 equals 7...

I’ve found this to be a proper amount that will properly season about ~4 fish fillets of normal/medium size. It can be worth making more if you’re grinding down the spices yourself. If not, simply mix!

• 1 tsp hot paprika*
• 1-2 tsp ground cardamon**
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp ground turmeric

After looking into the blend more, I've seen variations that call for normal paprika* but add in cayenne pepper as well as a 5th spice. So, you can be creative, if you’d like. As goes with any spice blend, there’s always a bit of play and customization to an individual’s and/or family’s palette involved. **For me, I use a bit of less cardamom depending on its strength.

The result will be a yummy golden orange brown color once mixed, as seen below.