My daughter was stationed in the middle east for around 15 months, and she purchased some spice for me. Neither she nor I know what is in it. It was purchased in Manama, Bahrain. I have posted a link to a Photobucket photograph here . If anyone knows what this is, let me know, I’m running out of it, and it’s good on chicken and lamb.
It’s just the brand name, “Al Fares Brand” in arabic. Do you have another pic with the label of the spice itself?
Bill
The Al Fares company packages a lot of different spices. The shop up the street sells them.
Regards
Testy
I can post another picture of the front of the bottle this Friday when I get home. I’ll update it then. Thanks.
I got your PM and am also standing by to translate this thing for you.
Four responses and not a single bacon salt reference?
Here we go. This is a picture of the side label with what I think are the ingredients. This is a picture of the front of the bottle.
I have a Svea No. 1 kerosene stove that has Arabic writing on it. I haven’t been able to find a photo online, and I have been unsuccessful in snapping a photo of it. I thought about copying it and taking a photo of the ‘drawing’, but I haven’t the patience. I tried rubbing it, but I’ve never done a rubbing of anything so I wasn’t successful.
Has anyone seen the Arabic writing on the Svea No. 1 stove? Do you know what it says? (I suspect it says ‘The King Of Stoves’, but that’s just a guess.)
You are correct. Courtesy of the amazing, totally asskicking on-line Multilingual Spice Index, I have assembled the following translation for you, in order of appearance in the ingredients list. (Check on the “Show foreign names” link in each spice page to compare for yourself the name of the ingredient on your jar with the standard Arabic name, even if you don’t read a lick of Arabic! Did I mention that Multilingual Spice Index kicks ass?)
Cumin
Turmeric
Coriander
Chili
msmar bazar makhlut? (I don’t understand this one)
Cassia (cinnamon)
Ginger
Some kind of licorice? (the first part of the Arabic name is the same as that of the Arabic word for licorice, but the second is different)
Black pepper
Thanks Kimstu . I think the spice you can’t recognize is cloves, at least it smells and tastes that way. I recognized a lot of the flavor notes, but the turmeric and ginger was beyond me. I also thought there was cardomom in there, but I guess I was wrong. I should be able to put together an analogous mixture from here.
Is there an accepted or customary use for this? It seems like an unusual mixture for normal use.
I’ll take your word for it, but according the MSI, the Arabic word for cloves ought to be “kabsh”, and I can’t see anything on your label that looks remotely close to that. Nor do any of the other spices in the family Myrtaceae, which might taste similar to cloves, have an Arabic name that resembles the unidentified words on your label. I am officially baffled and will just have to wait and see if Paul shows up with better information.
Is the licorice-namey one possibly fenugreek? It’s somewhat reminiscent of licorice or anise, and is a common spice in mixtures like that one (honestly, it looks like McCormick or somebody’s curry powder from the ingredients).
I don’t think so: fenugreek in Arabic is “hulba”, which doesn’t resemble the name on the label.
BUT…the name on the label is more or less “irq al-hayl", AFAICT. Now licorice in Arabic is "irq al-suss”, while cardamom (which Bill thought was in there) is “hayl” (and variants). Maybe that ingredient is some kind of cardamom.
Oh, that’s cardamom root; “irq al-” indicates the root instead of the seed.
“msmar bazar makhlut” – this one’s a mystery to me, too. I’ve puzzled out the writing, and I concur with your transliteration; I’ve looked up the words, and makhlut means “mix” or “blend,” while msmar (or masmar) means “nail.” I have no idea what bazar or bzar might mean, though. It’s interesting to note that almost every language calls cloves “nail spice,” but I can’t think of or find any word that lends itself to this interpretation.
I notice the package is from Bahrain; might this be some local term?