3dried chili peppers (or ½-1 teaspoon cayenne pepper)
Instructions
Add whole black peppercorns, cumin seeds, cardamom pods, allspice berries, coriander seeds, whole cloves, whole nutmeg, chili peppers, and ½ of a cinnamon stick to a hot cast-iron pan. Toast until aromatic.
Allow spices to cool before handling. Remove nutmeg, and grate separately using a microplane. Grind the remaining whole spices into a fine powder either by hand with a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder.
Mix ground spices, paprika, and shaved nutmeg together until throughly mixed. Store the baharat spice in an airtight container for up to a year. Mark the container with "baharat" and the date.
Notes
If you don't have a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder, a coffee grinder works just as well!
Always start with fresh spices and toss out any spices over a year old.
I prefer to make smaller batches of baharat spice mix so that it's fresh. If you do make a larger batch, consider freezing the extra to retain the freshness.
Store baharat in an airtight location, away from direct sunlight.