Smoky
Smoked paprika, chipotle and black cardamom: fire and smoke in a jar.
Smoky spices carry the taste of fire. Smoked paprika, chipotle, black cardamom, lapsang tea and some salts and chilli flakes give a campfire scent.
Where smoke comes from
Smoked flavour is gained by drying or roasting over wood. In La Vera in Spain, peppers are dried over oak, and chipotle is a ripe jalapeno smoke-dried in Mexico. Black cardamom pods are dried over open fires in the Himalayas.
How cooks use them
Smoky spices add depth to stews, beans, rubs, barbecue, paella and marinades. A small amount gives the effect of long cooking over fire without the effort.
Tips
Use a light hand, as smoke can dominate a dish. Smoked paprika comes sweet, bittersweet and hot, so choose by taste.
Smoky on EveryMasala
The spices written up so far, best known first.
🇴🇲 Oman and 3 moreDried lime
Sun-dried limes from the Persian Gulf, used whole or ground to add sour depth to Middle Eastern dishes.Fruit · Sour and tart · Earthy and deep
🇳🇵 Nepal and 4 moreBlack cardamom
The dried pod of a Zingiberaceae herb, prized for its smoky, camphor-like flavour in savoury cooking.Fruit · Smoky · Sharp and pungent
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Black cardamom: Brian Arthur, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Dried lime: Theinfo, CC BY 3.0, source