Zvia's Afghan Spice Rub

By Molly O'Neill

Total Time
5 minutes
Rating
5(17)
Comments
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This blend that I learned from a Manhattan street vendor can be rubbed into beef, pork or chicken two hours before grilling. It also adds a pungent note to tuna, swordfish, bluefish or bass if rubbed onto both sides of the steaks or fillets about an hour before grilling. In either case, the rub can be left on the meat or fish while grilling to make a blackened, seasoned crust. Used as a spice, it can be stirred into boiled rice or summer soups to taste.

Featured in: FOOD; Fire and Spice

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Ingredients

Yield:About one-third cup
  • 3tablespoons black peppercorns
  • 3tablespoons cumin seeds
  • 2tablespoons tumeric
  • 1tablespoon ground cardamom
  • 1tablespoon ground coriander
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (1 servings)

211 calories; 7 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 41 grams carbohydrates; 15 grams dietary fiber; 1 gram sugars; 8 grams protein; 42 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Grind all ingredients together with a mortar and pestle or spice grinder. Store in an airtight container.

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5 out of 5
17 user ratings
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Comments

LMK

This is an amazingly versatile recipe. I clipped the original "Fire and Spice" article and recipes back in 1991 when it first appeared and have used it regularly for the past 25 years. I no longer measure, just throw the ingredients together and grind (I use whole coriander and sometimes peel whole cardamom for this -- so much more fragrant). I just made some at a friend's home and she used the leftovers on some quinoa with parsley.

KPC

I've made this rub/spice blend several times now. I especially love it on salmon. Serve it with a basic rice pilaf and stir fried greens with garlic and nigella seeds.

John B Thompson

I think this is the same spice mix I have been wondering about for decades which they used at Afghan Chicken on 2nd Avenue between 70&71st in the 1980s when I was a student at Hunter. I just looked it up on Google Earth and it's still there, except instead of the simple carry out that kept me alive for years, and a charcoal grill in the window (where they would also lay their ribbed flatbread directly on the coals, it's now a sit down nice restaurant called Afghan Keb House!

dan

Needs salt! Start with tbsp

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