Shawarma seasoning, seven jars into one
Earthy, red and pepper-forward. The one you already make every time you make the oven shawarma, finally written down.
At a Glance
Story
A whole spice keeps its oils locked in the seed. Grind it and you open every cell at once, which is why a jar of pre-ground anything is loud on day one and vague by month six. That is the argument for half a cup rather than a quart. Make the amount you will actually use before it goes quiet.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp ground cumin
- 2 tbsp paprika
- 2 tbsp black peppercoarsely ground
- 1 tbsp ground coriander
- 1 ½ tsp ground turmeric
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
Method
Every jarred shawarma blend leans a different way. The bought ones tend to run citrusy and warm, heavy on coriander and sumac, with no paprika at all. This one goes the other way, earthy and red, because it is lifted straight from the marinade on the house oven shawarma and scaled up to fill a jar.
No salt. Every dish that uses this seasons itself, and a salted blend just means salting twice and noticing too late.
- Tip everything into a small jar with a lid.
- Shake. That is the whole method, and it is worth doing with the lid held on rather than trusted.
- Label it, because in six months it looks like four other jars on that shelf.
Keep it somewhere dark. Heat and light are what turn a good blend into dust, and the cupboard above the stove is the worst place in the kitchen for it despite being the most convenient. Use it within six months, which the half-cup batch makes easy.
A heaping half tablespoon seasons a pound of chicken or turkey. Rub it on dry for a crust, or slack it with olive oil and lemon into a marinade and give it an hour.
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