In Georgian cooking, Khmeli Suneli is a spice mix that can be used as a dry rub or as an enhancement to soups and stews. It is essentially a curry, since it’s just a mix of spices.  You can choose to use all dried ingredients, or include some fresh, if you have it or it’s in season.

I used this in a mixed braise with lamb and short ribs (expect a post about that soon).  But it would also be great mixed with some olive oil and bread crumbs as an herb crust on chicken or fish.  Or sprinkle in a heaping tablespoon once you’ve sweated down some onions as a base for soup.

It’s fragrant, beautiful stuff, with forgiving measurements.

Persephone’s Khmeli Suneli

Mix equal parts dried of (I used a tablespoon each):

Whole fenugreek seeds

Bay leaf (I used 2 huge ones)

Whole coriander seeds

Whole celery seed

Basil

Thyme

Saffron (I used a big pinch, not a whole tablespoon, and this could be replaced with turmeric if you so choose)

Then fresh:

Dill

Parsley

Mint

Crush all dried and fresh ingredients together in a mortar and pestle or use a food processor to crush everything together.

Store in the fridge and use fairly quickly if you’ve included fresh herbs, store in the pantry if you’ve chosen all dried.

Don’t forget, Columbus locals, North Market Spices is a fantastic place to grab all the gear for this.

Playlist included Make Her Mine, by Mayer Hawthorne featuring Intuition from the I Ruined These Songs for You Mixtape “She’s a Bev Hills Betty, I’m a west side loser with a wallet full of maxed out plastic and coupons.”