Xawaash substitutes
Xawaash substitutes — 6 options, ranked, with the exact amount
Use Cumin + coriander + black pepper + cardamom + cinnamon + turmeric
Same amount as the xawaash
2 tsp cumin + 2 tsp coriander + 1 tsp black pepper + ½ tsp cardamom + ½ tsp cinnamon + ½ tsp turmeric makes about 2 tbsp
Xawaash is the background aroma and warmth in nearly every Somali savoury dish, and it is not hot. Mix your own from 2 tsp cumin, 2 tsp coriander, 1 tsp black pepper, ½ tsp cardamom, ½ tsp cinnamon and ½ tsp turmeric, toasting the whole seeds first if you have them. If you need one jar instead, curry powder works at 1:1 but cut it by a quarter and add ¼ tsp cinnamon per teaspoon to pull it back. The two-jar minimum is equal parts ground cumin and coriander, which is most of the blend by weight anyway.
- Verdict —
- Works
- Best for —
- suqaar
Updated 26 Jul 2026 · no sponsored swaps
Every option, one card
Ranked| # | Substitute | Instead of xawaash | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cumin + coriander + black pepper + cardamom + cinnamon + turmericsuqaar | Same amount2 tsp cumin + 2 tsp coriander + 1 tsp black pepper + ½ tsp cardamom + ½ tsp cinnamon + ½ tsp turmeric makes about 2 tbspWorks | Works |
| 2 | Curry powdersuqaar | Use ¾ as much as the xawaash called for, plus ¼ tsp cinnamon per teaspoonTweak it | Tweak it |
| 3 | Baharat + cumin and turmericmaraq | Same amountPlus ¼ tsp ground cumin and ¼ tsp turmeric per teaspoon of baharatTweak it | Tweak it |
| 4 | Garam masalasuqaar | Use ¾ as much, plus ½ tsp ground cumin and ½ tsp ground coriander per teaspoonTweak it | Tweak it |
| 5 | Equal parts cumin and corianderan emergency mid-recipe | Same amountFor xawaash, using equal volumes of ground cumin and ground corianderTweak it | Tweak it |
| 6 | Ras el hanoutstews | Use ¾ as much as the xawaash called forTweak it | Tweak it |
Cumin + coriander + black pepper + cardamom + cinnamon + turmeric
similar taste and texture
The blend rebuilt from a standard spice rack, which is what a Somali home cook makes anyway.
- Best for
- suqaar, bariis iskukaris, maraq, sambusa filling, goat and chicken, roast vegetables
This is the real thing, and the only compromise is the roast. If you can buy whole cumin and coriander seed, toast them in a dry pan until the coriander smells citrusy and the cumin smells nutty, cool, then grind with the rest. Pre-ground cumin makes a noticeably duller blend, and the difference is obvious in something as simple as spiced rice.
Curry powder
different taste, similar texture
The closest single jar in an ordinary supermarket, sharing cumin, coriander, turmeric and pepper with xawaash.
- Best for
- suqaar, spiced rice, stews, chicken, a weeknight shortcut
Curry powder carries fenugreek and usually chili, plus considerably more turmeric, so rice made with it comes out a brighter yellow with a faint maple-bitter edge and a little heat that xawaash does not have. Cutting the amount and adding cinnamon pushes it back toward xawaash's browner, sweeter, gentler profile. It is a genuinely workable swap that nobody unfamiliar with the real blend would question.
Baharat + cumin and turmeric
different taste, similar texture
A Levantine warm blend with a lot of common ground, corrected in the two places it falls short.
- Best for
- maraq, beef and goat stews, sambusa filling, rice
Baharat's clove, allspice and nutmeg make a dish taste warmer and more Christmas-spiced than xawaash does, and most baharat has no turmeric, so your rice stays pale unless you add some. The added cumin restores the savoury backbone. The clove note does still read through, so use a slightly lighter hand overall than the recipe suggests for xawaash.
Garam masala
different taste, similar texture
An Indian finishing blend that shares xawaash's cardamom, cinnamon and pepper core.
- Best for
- suqaar, meat stews, chicken, when garam masala is the only warm blend you own
Garam masala is much more clove- and black-cardamom-forward and contains far less coriander by weight, so on its own the dish smells sweeter and more perfumed and tastes distinctly less savoury than it should. The added cumin and coriander are doing most of the work here and are not optional. Add it earlier in the cook than you would for an Indian dish, because xawaash is a base seasoning rather than a finish.
Equal parts cumin and coriander
different taste, similar texture
The two-jar minimum, which gets surprisingly far because these two spices make up most of xawaash by weight.
- Best for
- an emergency mid-recipe, suqaar, maraq, meat
This gets you most of the way there, which is the honest good news. What it loses is the warm-sweet upper layer from cardamom and cinnamon, so the dish tastes flatter, more one-note and slightly taco-ish. A pinch of cinnamon and a good grind of black pepper are the two cheapest additions that fix it, and you almost certainly have both.
Ras el hanout
different taste, similar texture
A long North African blend that overlaps on cumin, coriander, turmeric, pepper and cinnamon.
- Best for
- stews, roast meat, vegetables, when nothing else is on the shelf
The warmth is right and the ingredient overlap is real, but most ras el hanout includes rose petals and sometimes lavender, so suqaar made with it tastes perfumed and Moroccan rather than Somali. It is also a much longer list of spices, which makes the dish busier. Use less than you would xawaash and do not add anything else on top.
Questions
5 questionsWhat does xawaash taste like?
Warm, earthy and gently sweet, led by toasted cumin and coriander with cinnamon and cardamom sitting behind them and black pepper giving it a lift. It is not hot at all. The coriander is what makes it distinctive: it adds a sweet citrus edge that stops the cumin from dominating, which is why xawaash smells rounder and less sharp than a Mexican-style cumin blend.
Is xawaash the same as curry powder?
No, though curry powder is the closest thing on a supermarket shelf. Curry powder contains fenugreek and usually chili, has far more turmeric, and is often built around a different cumin-to-coriander ratio. Xawaash has no fenugreek, no chili, and more cinnamon and cardamom, so it is browner, sweeter and gentler. If you swap curry powder in, use three-quarters as much and add a pinch of cinnamon.
Can I just leave xawaash out of Somali rice or suqaar?
Not really, because it is the flavour of those dishes rather than an accent on them. Bariis iskukaris without xawaash is plain rice, and suqaar without it is just fried beef and onion. The fast stand-in is equal parts ground cumin and coriander plus a good grind of black pepper, which gets you most of the way and takes thirty seconds.
Is xawaash spicy?
No. It contains black pepper, which gives warmth at the back of the throat, but no chili at all. Somali food gets its heat from basbaas, a separate chili sauce made with green or red chilies, cilantro and lime, served on the side so each person adjusts their own plate. If a xawaash you bought is hot, it has had chili added to it.
Is xawaash the same as hawaij?
They are close cousins across the Red Sea. Yemeni hawaij for soup shares cumin, black pepper, turmeric and cardamom with xawaash and swaps 1:1 in most Somali dishes. The difference is emphasis: hawaij leans on turmeric and black pepper and often skips the heavy toasted coriander, while xawaash leans on coriander and cinnamon. Either will make a good pot of maraq.
Tips for substituting xawaash
6 tips- Toast whole cumin and coriander seed and grind them yourself if you possibly can. Xawaash is defined by that roast, and it is the single biggest difference between a blend that tastes Somali and one that tastes like generic curry powder.
- Coriander should be equal to or greater than cumin by volume. Western cooks reflexively lead with cumin and end up with something closer to taco seasoning, and correcting the ratio fixes the flavour more than any other single change.
- Bloom xawaash in the oil with the onion and garlic before the meat or rice goes in. Stirred into a finished broth it tastes gritty and raw, especially the turmeric.
- About 1 teaspoon per pound of meat or per cup of dry rice is the working dose. It is a background blend, not a rub, and doubling it makes food taste dusty rather than more flavourful.
- Heat is a separate job in Somali cooking. Xawaash is not spicy, and if you want chili heat it comes from basbaas, the green or red chili sauce served alongside, so do not add cayenne to your xawaash to make it hotter.
- Make a small jar at a time and keep it in the freezer. Ground cumin and coriander are the fastest-fading spices in the blend and lose their edge in about three months.