Ras el hanout – the magical Moroccan spice blend

In Morocco, the spice shops in the souks sell a large variety of both ground and whole spices that are the foundation of Moroccan cooking.

When you buy your spices from the spice merchant, he grinds them for you on the spot, so they are always full of flavour with intense aromas. They typically grind together whole spices, dried roots, and leaves; the whole spices give a bolder and deeper flavour, which the Moroccans love.

The eight most important spices in Morocco are cinnamon, cumin, saffron, paprika, turmeric, black pepper, fefla soudaniya, similar to cayenne pepper, and ginger.  Then there are cloves, allspice, coriander seeds, fenugreek, aniseed and caraway seeds.

Each spice merchant has his recipe for ras el hanout, which translates as ‘shopkeeper’s choice’ or ‘top of the shelf’.  It is the very best offering in a spice shop This mix may contain 10 or 20 up to as many as 35 different ground spices depending on the whim of the shopkeeper.

It is interesting to note that relatively few Moroccans use this spice blend in daily cooking; the majority reserve it for specialty dishes, probably because of the cost.

Spices included in ras el hanout include: cumin, cinnamon, black pepper, saffron, cayenne pepper, paprika, turmeric, ginger, saffron stigmata, cloves, allspice, coriander seeds, nutmeg, cassia, mace, cardamom, fennel seeds, dill, fenugreek, aniseed, caraway seeds, and grains of paradise, also known as melegueta pepper.  Some other ingredients may also be added such as orris root, cubeb pepper, lavender, belladonna, rosebuds and other ingredients not available outside Morocco.

My 15 spice ras el hanout

½ tsp each – ground cloves, fennel, cayenne pepper, paprika, star anise, ground saffron stigma
½ tsp freshly grated nutmegs or 1½ tsp ground nutmeg
2 tsp each – ground allspice, cumin, ginger, turmeric, black pepper and cardamom
3 tsp each – ground coriander and cinnamon

Combine all these powders in a bowl and mix well; place in a clean, dry jar and store in a cool, dark place and use as directed in recipes.  When the additional flavour of rose petals is required, you may add rosewater to the ras el hanout.