Afāwih

Discussion

Afāwih is a collective term for aromatic spices. This is not a specific blend, but indicates the cook use what they prefer or what is available. We can think of this as similar in concept to India’s Garam Masala or later Medieval Europe’s Poudre Fort or Poudre Douce. Interestingly, in the recipe for the Stuffed, Buried Jewish Dish included in this project, we are specifically told to omit Cumin. As that is the context of this supplemental recipe, Cumin is absent, but I have included an optional measure that I would include if using this blend for the other recipes calling for it.

We are given a good explanation in the appendix of FKH, which follows:

afāwih spices in general, especially the aromatic ones. The Andalusi cookbook contemporary with al-Tujibi’s the anonymous Anwa’al-saydala [ASA], gives examples of afāwih rafi’a ‘fine aromatic spices’ used in making delicate cookies: cinnamon, cassia, spikenard, black pepper, galangal, nutmeg. In addition, al-Maqqari mentions that there were 25 varieties of afāwih; the examples he gives are spikenard, cloves, sandalwood, Ceylon cinnamon, and sweet flag. He also mentions the five basic varities of aromatic spices: musk, camphor, aloeswood, ambergris, and saffron, adding that they were all from India but saffron and ambergris were also obtained from al-Andalus.

For the mixture below, I have included a fairly long list of both common and uncommon spices available today, balanced against each other in what I think is a pleasant harmony. If you are unable or unwilling to source some or all of these ingredients, I think that simply omitting those and proceeding with the recipe as-scaled will still result in a delicious and appropriate blend.