Advieh (Persian spice mix) Recipe

Advieh (Persian spice mix or ادویه) is a mixture of different spices that make a singular spice(Advieh), and it is used in Persian cuisine. It is impossible to imagine foods, especially Persian foods, without spices. These little dried herbs worth more than they look to Persian cuisine. Some Iranian chefs have made Persian mixed spice during Safavian Throne in Iran. It is really like a miracle that these little ground items add so much scent and color to the foods. I cannot imagine any of the foods without spices.

It is not precisely clear where and why Persian chefs decided to mix spices to create Advieh, but they have made four different kinds of it that have different uses.

Different types of Advieh:

Advieh is a mixture of different spices. So, it is clear that if you add or omit a new spice from the combination, there will be a new result. There are four main Advieh in Persian cuisine:

1.     Advieh Polow

This is the most known and most used type. It is a mixture of rose, cinnamon, cumin, cardamom and nutmegs and they use it mostly in Polows. Different Polows, such as Loobia Polow and Adas Polo, owe their delightful scent and taste to Advieh. Moreover, it is used in cooking Kookoo.

2.     Advieh Ash

This is a unique mixture of spices that Iranian chefs use in Ash (thick Persian soup). Not in all types of Ash, but most of them. It is a mixture of coriander, cumin, black pepper, fenugreek leaves, nutmeg, cinnamon, and some dried garlic calves.

3.     Advieh Torshi

Torshi is a Persian pickle. To make Torshi, they marinate vegetables in vinegar with Torshi spice. This spice is made with coriander, angelica, cumin, ginger, anise seeds, cinnamon, shah jeera, nigella seeds, celery seeds, turmeric, cardamom, pepper, red pepper, savoury, cilantro and tarragon. You should use dried herbs.

4.      Advieh Khoresh

This spice is used in many stews such as Morgh stew. They make it by mixing coriander, rose, cinnamon, limes, cumin, cardamom, black pepper, star anise, and nutmeg.

Important Nutrition Facts:

Despite what you may think, Advieh has about 250 kcal per 100gr. It seems a significant amount at first, but if we consider that we use about only 1 or 2 gr of it each time we are cooking, we can ignore the calorie in our foods. Advieh has about 72 gr carbohydrates per 100gr. It also has a 9 gr of fat per 100gr. It contains many vitamins such as 39 mg vitamin C per 100gr and 49 mg vitamin A per 100gr. Furthermore, it includes 1052 mg sodium, about 700 mg calcium, 150 mg magnesium and 105mg Phosphor in each 100gr. Interestingly, these little herbs are so rich in nutrition.

Vegetarian tips:

The Persian spice mix is made with entirely vegetable source possessing items. If you are a vegetarian or vegan, you can confidently use Persian Advieh in your foods.

What do you need for Making Advieh at home?

To make these spice mixes at home, you need a nut or spice grinder. If you do not have a grinder, you can use your coffee grinder. Moreover, you need dried herbs; you can either buy dried herbs or dry them yourself. You could dry them in the oven. Then you need spice containers to pout your Advieh at last. If you can prepare a mortal and a pestle, you would have more straightforward work. You can use a blender instead, or you can use the grinder twice.

How to make Advieh at home?

Prepare the dried herbs in the correct amount. Peel them if it is needed. Try to cut them into smaller pieces if they are too big for your grinder. I suggest you chop them with mortar and pestle once before pouting them to the grinder. Then grind the herbs. If you think that they are grainier than usual, grind them once or twice more. Finally, sift the mixture well and pout it into your container.

One might wonder that he or she can mix the ready ground spices, and there is no need to combine them like this. I would say that they have a different taste and scent. The Advieh made out of grinding the dried herbs has more intense smell and flavour.

Recipe:

This recipe takes 10 minutes to prepare Advieh.