Only six seasonings are admitted in the Nidam al-Tayyibat: salt (Green), cumin (Green), black pepper (Green), tahini (Green), cinnamon (Yellow) and cane vinegar (Yellow). Everything else in the spice cupboard is set aside.
This is a short list, and it explains why cooking changes so much when you begin. The zones come from the site's food database.
The six, with their zone
| Seasoning | Zone | Recognised use |
|---|---|---|
| Salt | Green | without restriction |
| Cumin | Green | the system's main spice |
| Black pepper | Green | without restriction |
| Tahini | Green | sesame cream, also as a sauce |
| Cinnamon | Yellow | in moderation |
| Cane vinegar | Yellow | in moderation, the only vinegar admitted |
Four in Green, two in Yellow. According to the system, cumin and black pepper carry most of the taste, and tahini serves as much as a sauce as a condiment.
To these six is added a fresh aromatic that is not classified as a spice but plays that role: ginger (Green), the only fresh aromatic in the Green zone.
What is set aside
Seven common condiments are in the Red zone, and they are the ones that occupy the average cupboard.
- Hot pepper, chilli, cayenne, harissa (Red)
- Mustard (Red)
- Ketchup and manufactured sauces (Red)
- Mayonnaise (Red)
- Soy sauce and Asian broths (Red)
- Stock cube and flavour enhancers (glutamate) (Red)
- Tomato concentrate (Red)
To these are added the two basic aromatics, which are not spices but disappear at the same time: garlic (Red) and onion (Red).
The case of hot pepper, which surprises most
Hot pepper is a spice, not a processed product, and yet it is set aside. The system classifies it as Red along with chilli, cayenne and harissa, that is, the whole strong-heat family.
Black pepper remains admitted. The distinction is therefore not “spicy versus mild” but a family membership: according to the system, strong heat is out, pepper remains.
For North African cooking, this removes harissa, and with it much of the taste identity of several dishes. It is a real renunciation, and it is better to know this before starting than at the third meal.
The stock cube, the most frequent trap
The stock cube (Red) is the item that takes you outside the framework without your noticing, because it is not experienced as a food but as a gesture.
Three reasons to watch it:
- It almost always contains dehydrated onion and garlic, both Red.
- It provides glutamate, which the entry names explicitly.
- It is present in many preparations that do not announce it: cartoned soups, ready meals, flavoured rice.
The same reasoning applies to ready-made sauces. The system asks you to read labels rather than trust the product name.
How to create flavour with six things
The answer is not a list of substitutes, because there are none. It is a different method.
- Cooking as a source of flavour. Brown the vegetable or meat thoroughly: caramelisation replaces part of what the aromatic base used to do.
- Cumin in two stages. Part at the start of cooking in the fat, part at the end for aroma. This is the move that brings a dish closest to the expected taste.
- Tahini as a binder. A spoonful of tahini (Green) thinned with water gives a coating sauce, without mayonnaise or mustard.
- Grated fresh ginger for the liveliness that garlic used to bring.
- Cane vinegar by drops. The only vinegar admitted, in the Yellow zone, therefore in moderation.
Conventional nutrition has no particular position on this list of spices, except on salt: it recommends limiting it, whereas the entry classifies it as Green without restriction. We note the discrepancy without settling it.
Rebuilding your cupboard, in practical terms
Moving to this list means emptying a shelf rather than adding to a recipe, and the system considers this preliminary sorting more important than any cooking trick.
- Remove the sauces and the cubes. Ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard, soy sauce, stock cube: five Red entries that take up the most space and recur most often.
- Remove the heat. Harissa, chilli, cayenne, chilli flakes: a single entry covers them all.
- Keep six jars. Salt, cumin, black pepper, cinnamon, plus tahini and cane vinegar kept in a cool place.
- Buy fresh ginger every week. It is the only living aromatic that remains, and it gets used up quickly.
The system also asks you to re-read already opened mixtures: a ‘tajine mixture’ or a ‘herb salt’ frequently contains garlic or onion powder, therefore Red ingredients under a name that does not announce them.
What the system does not specify
Many common spices have no entry in the database: turmeric, sweet paprika, coriander seeds, caraway, ras el-hanout, bay leaf, saffron.
In the absence of an explicit entry, we do not decide on behalf of the system. Saying ‘it is permitted’ because it is not written would be as false as saying ‘it is forbidden’. The site's rule is to signal the silence rather than fill it.
This has a practical consequence: a compound mixture such as ras el-hanout very often contains hot pepper and sometimes garlic powder, therefore ingredients classified Red, even if the mixture itself has no entry.
Frequently asked questions
Is salt really without limit?
The salt entry classifies it as Green, that is, without restriction of frequency. The system does not publish a maximum quantity. Conventional nutrition, for its part, recommends limiting sodium; if you have hypertension, this is a point to discuss with your doctor.
Are turmeric or paprika permitted?
The database has no entry for them, so the system does not make a ruling in our data and we do not decide. What is certain is that mixtures containing hot pepper fall under the hot pepper (Red) entry.
Why is harissa set aside when it is just hot pepper?
Because the classification concerns the strong-heat family, not the degree of processing. Black pepper (Green) remains admitted, which shows that the criterion is not ‘spicy or not’.
Can you use cider vinegar or balsamic vinegar?
No: the only vinegar with an entry is cane vinegar (Yellow). The others have no entry, and the whitelist does not admit by default.
Does tahini count as a spice or as a food?
Both, in practice. It is in the Green zone and serves as a condiment as well as a sauce base. It is the element that gives the most latitude in such a short list.
To go further
- The food database — the zone and condition of each condiment.
- What is the Tayebat diet?
- The permitted vegetables: the complete list
The zones and conditions cited come from the site's food database, built from the published lists of the system described by Dr Diaa Al-Awadi. Spices without an entry are signalled as such rather than assumed to be admitted.
Disclaimer
This article describes a food system; it does not give medical advice and does not replace medical advice. The salt entry does not set a limit, which does not amount to a recommendation: if you have hypertension, are pregnant, have renal insufficiency or are receiving treatment, talk to a health professional before changing your diet.