So many of these mixes sound similar, no doubt because of the Persian and Turkish influences that permeate the region along with the use of common ingredients. Plus every housewife and cook has his/her own versions.
Given the ingredients Phil posted, I'd have guessed it closer to baharat than ras el hanout---which is a much more complex Moroccan blend, containing as many as 35 ingredients. My version has a mere 15. But, of course, I leave out the aphrodisiacs and other possibly toxic additives. And I've seen at least a dozen recipes for baharat.
In The Complete Middle East Cookbook, Tess Mallos describes baharat as "a mixture of spices used in Gulf Arabic and Iraqi cooking, it is a combination of cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, cumin, coriander and pepper with paprika added for color."
According to Ghillie Basan, in The Middle Eastern Kitchen, "The traditional Iranian spice mixture advieh, which varies considerably from the Persian Gulf to the Caspian Sea, always includes cardamom seeds. A basic advieh recipes will include roughly equal amounts of cumin seeds, caraway, cardamom, cinnamon and coriander, all ground to a powder with turmeric. For a mild advieh, some people add a lot of cinnamon to the mixture; for a fragrant advieh, saffron, dried rose petals, and pistachios might be added, and for a hearty advieh, the addition of black pepper and cloves to a greater amount of cumin, coriander, and turmeric gives it a spicy kick, more akin to a mild Indian garam masala."
>Other than the rose petals, you've just run down the list for a generic garam masala. <
Here, again, there are so many versions I'd hesitate to say that any particular one is truer than any other.
FWIW, Suvir Saran uses miniature rosebuds as an optional ingredient in his recipe.
According to his comments, "Garam masala is the Indian equivalent of French herbes de Provence or Chinese five-spice pwder. The recipe changes from region to region within northern India and can be varied according to whim."
Saran is not only a cheftalk member, he owns the only non-Japanese Asian restaurant in New York to earn Michelin stars. So when he talks about Indian food, I listen.