Spices

Grains of Paradise mixed with Love in a Mist (Nigella seed)?

Background

graveolens: Meaning: Heavy scented, unpleasant smell; Pronunciation: grav-ee-OH-lens

Ethiopian

Berbere = spice mix that includes korarima, allspice, garlic, ginger, rue, and chili.

Korarima (or korerima or kewrerima) = Aframomum corrorima or Ethiopian cardamom.  In the ginger family.  ‘False cardamom’ or cardamom powder.  Spice is made from the plant’s large, brown or black pods.  Don’t buy ground cardamom.  Other types of cardamom do not make a good substitute; grains of paradise are an acceptable substitute.

Koseret or lemon bush = Lippia adoensis.  It has a sweet aroma dominated by linalool.  (Mediterranean type basil is also high in linalool.)  It is in the verbena family.  Described as being ‘sage like’.

Beso Bela = African blue basil.  ‘besolila’ is ‘basil’ in Amharic.  Also called ‘bessobela’, ‘besobila’, ‘bessobila’, or ‘besso bela’.  Ocimum graveolens or Ocimum basilicum var. anisatum.  Has a clove flavor rather than the typical licorice flavor due to its camphor content.  Substitute “regular” basil (Italian Basil) or, if you can find it, Holy Basil has some camphor content and should thus be closer in flavor.  If you can find African Blue Basil it’s an African and European basil hybrid with a camphor content and flavor much closer to Beso Bela.  In the US it’s most likely sold as an ornamental rather than as a dried herb.

Tosign = African thyme or African oregano.  Also spelled ‘tosegen’ and ‘tosgne’.  Member of the thymus genus: thymus serrulatus and thymus schimperi are both grown in Ethiopia; ‘tosign’ is one of the Abyssinian names for the latter, and the Amharic name is ‘tosgne’.  Its essential oil is predominantly thymol, but there’s also carvacrol (oregano) and linalool (coriander and basil).  Sub-species of creeping thyme?  “Essential oils of Thymus schimperi showed lethal effect against E. coli and S.typhi at all test concentrations used“.  Mexican oregano may be used as a substitute; Italian oregano does not make a good substitute.

Peri-peri (or piri piri) = very hot chili pepper.

Canela = Ceylon cinnamon, native to Sri Lanka – much better flavor than cassia cinnamon (Chinese cinnamon).

Grains of Paradise = seeds of Aframomum melegueta.  Also called ‘tikur azmud’ or ‘tiqur azmud’.  Species in the ginger family.  Native to West Africa but is also cultivated in southern Ethiopia.

Common rue (tena adam) – not native but the leaves and berries are widely used.

Senafitch = Ethiopian mustard seed.

References

http://edepot.wur.nl/133133

http://www.springerimages.com/Images/LifeSciences/1-10.1007_s10457-009-9246-6-9

Sources

http://shop.brundo.com/category.sc;jsessionid=CB7EF8D07E0448714D3B2763FFF870BA.qscstrfrnt06?categoryId=3

South American

Lippia citriodora = Lemon verbena

citrus, lime

habanero, chipotle, jalapeño, serrano, poblano

Mexican

Lippia graveolens = Mexican oregano, member of the verbena family.  Distinct flavor from Italian oregano (mint family).

Western European

Italian oregano – member of the mint family.
Rosemary
Basil
x

Central European

Paprika – Can range from sweet to hot.  Was hot until the 1920s.  Today true hot paprika is difficult to find in the US – much of what’s labeled ‘hot’ is sweet paprika with a little cayenne.

Asian

Cassia = Chinese cinnamon, a common substitute for Ceylon cinnamon.  Per Wikipedia, it’s “native to southern China, Bangladesh, Uganda, India, and Vietnam“.

Nigella sativa = black cumin

Turmeric = Curcuma longa.  Native to South Asia.  Rhizome.  Member of the ginger family.

Curry leaf – native to India and Sri Lanka.