What are these spices, and how do I use them (central Asian/Russian)?

Cafe Society
1

My mom just came back from a trip to Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, and one of the souvenirs she brought back was a set of spices. Most of them are labeled, but some of the labels are in both Russian and English, some are just Russian, some are in Russian and some other language, and in some cases the English translation isn’t very helpful. Some of them are obvious enough, and a few others Mom got the translation already, but I’m puzzled by some:

Барбарис, which Google Translate tells me is “barberry”. Mom had never heard of this one, either, but coincidentally one of the magazines that came while she was gone has a recipe using them.

Ёлки / Green Tree: Google Translate gives me “Christmas Trees”. It looks sort of like juniper needles-- are those edible?

набор / Mixed: Google Translate says “Set”. It looks like mostly red pepper, mixed with some sort of dried leaf. What’s this likely to be a mix of?

Something without a label, but which looks like black sesame seeds.

для шашлик: Google Translate says “For shashlik”. The second word looks like it’s just a transcription of the Russian, but I gather that shashlik is a sort of kebab? And never mind what it’s for; what is the spice? It’s a pale yellow powder-- It looks like it might be mustard?

горький перец / Biter Paper: Apparently Russglish for “Bitter Pepper”. I’m guessing that “bitter” means “hot”? That’s what it looks like.

Самарканд горный чай, which Google gives as “Samarkand mountain tea” (and it also has a picture of a teacup). Is this a variety of C. sinensis, or some other tisane?

Oh, and there are also some star anises. They’re not labeled, but the shape is obvious enough. But I’m not sure what to use them for, either.

2

I’ve never had barberries, but here is a Russian video with ways of using them (pretty self-explanatory):

Evergreen needles. I assume you use them to make something like spruce tea, which I believe is high in vitamin C.

Selected seasonings. Probably pepper and bay leaves.

That’s probably what they are.

*Shashlik *is usually chunks of marinated pork or lamb grilled on skewers. I’m assuming your powder is more of a dry rub, probably with some mustard or tumeric in it.

Yes, hot pepper. Probably ground Cayenne.

Green or black, it’s probably ordinary tea with an ethnic label.

Star anise is used in a lot of dishes. Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsay seem to be especially fond of it.

3

I sometimes make this dish, with chickpeas, dates, and star anise. Chickpeas in Star Anise and Date Masala Recipe - NYT Cooking

I don’t really ever use it for anything else. though.

4

The video claims that barberry (the plant) has a number of health benefits. It says all parts are edible, raw or prepared. They are restorative and invigorating and have antiseptic and anti-inflamatory properties. They can be used to treat hepatitis, malaria, gynecological illnesses, open wounds, malignant tumors, et cetera.

5

Butternut Squash with Star Anise and Ginger

1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 tablespoon finely grated peeled fresh ginger
2/3 cup chopped shallot
1-3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
3 whole star anise
1 tablespoon sweet curry powder
2-3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1-3/4 lb butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into ½ inch pieces (5 cups)
4 cups chicken stock or broth
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Garnish: fresh cilantro

Toss shrimp with ginger in a bowl and marinate, chilled, no longer than 30 minutes. Meanwhile, cook shallot, garlic, anise and curry powder in butter in a heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring, until shallot is softened, about 5 minutes.

Add squash and stock and simmer, uncovered, until squash is very tender, about 20 minutes. Remove star anise. Puree soup in 2 batches in a blender until very smooth, about one minute per batch, then transfer to cleaned pan and keep warm, covered.

Sprinkle marinated shrimp with salt. Heat oil in a large skillet over moderately high heat, then sauté shrimp in batches, stirring, until just cooked through, about 3 minutes per batch, and remove to paper towels. Bring soup to a simmer and season with salt and pepper. Place in shallow soup bowls, mounding three shrimp in the center and garnishing with cilantro.

So good, it’ll make you slap yo’ mama.

6

My visiting East Indian friend uses star anise in his chicken biryani. As it’s the first dish he ever learned how to cook for himself, with the help of his mother via Skype, I’m thinking it’s not hard to make.

It’s also used in many Chinese dishes.

7

Barberries are awesome. Ground dried barberries are sumac, which is used as a souring agent in all sorts of foods of Greater Persia and around the Middle East. Try the whole ones in plov, a classic dish found all around Central Asia. There are probably as many *plov *recipes as there are Central Asian cooks, but this recipe is pretty close to the one I use.

I am about 98% sure the yellow spice in your shashlik mix is turmeric, not mustard, given where it came from. A small taste ought to tell you. I be there are a bunch of other spices in there, too. Does your nose tell you anything?

8

Speculating, your seeds might be black mustard instead of black sesame. Is this what they look like?

https://www.gourmetsleuth.com/ingredients/detail/black-mustard-seeds

9

Fun Fact: French’s mustard is yellow and tangy because it’s loaded with tumeric.

10

I cook with both mustard and turmeric (more often with pure whole mustard seeds than with prepared mustard; we like Indian food in our house). The pure forms of both spices taste nothing like each other. And I don’t know what taste you are calling “tangy,” but prepared mustard is typically chock-full of vinegar as well.

11

Yeah, I’m sure vinegar has something to do with it too. To my palate, French’s yellow mustard tastes nothing like Dijon, Coleman’s, or any other mustard I have in my fridge. It’s tangy in the way I’d describe a persimmon as being tangy.

12

They may also be “black carraway”, Nigella sativa. Also known as kalonji in Indian cooking. Nigella sativa - Wikipedia

A lot of those things all look alike to me.

I had no idea Sumac, from Jordan, was crushed barberries. It’s delicious, kind of lemony and bitter.

13

I was curious, so I checked, and in fact vinegar is the first ingredient.

14

Congratulations. :slight_smile:

15

FULL INGREDIENTS

Organic Distilled Vinegar, Water, Organic Mustard Seed, Salt, Organic Turmeric, Organic Paprika, Organic Spice, Organic Natural Flavor, Organic Garlic Powder.

I’m curious as to what constitutes “organic spice”.

16

The pale yellow powder isn’t turmeric (or at least, not pure turmeric), because there’s another packet in the set that is pure turmeric (and it’s a much richer color). I didn’t mention that one because it’s one of the ones I already knew. There’s also cumin seeds, which I’m also familiar with, and dried grapes (which I never would have thought of as a “spice”, but who knows?).

EDIT: The ones I know also include parsley and coriander seed.

17

French’s (and some other yellow mustards like my favorite Plochman’s) definitely has a distinct flavor from the turmeric. But the flavor turmeric is contributing is…well…a turmeric flavor, which isn’t tang–at least not to me. It’s an earthy and I’d almost call musty type of flavor. It kind of sits there deep in your tongue.

18

Grown without chemical fertilizers? :dubious: :confused:

19

Maybe fenugreek? It’s a pale yellow.

20

It sounds to me like a spice blend for shashlik, so it’s probably a whole buncha stuff.