Ras el Hanout
Moroccan blend — the shopkeeper's best
The name means head of the shop — the best a spice merchant has, and every merchant's version differs. Some run to thirty spices. This is a workable twelve.
Toast and grind whole spices. Pre-ground powder is a different and much duller thing.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons cumin seeds
- 2 tablespoons coriander seeds
- 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
- 2 teaspoons cardamom seeds (from about 20 pods)
- 2 teaspoons fennel seeds
- 1 teaspoon whole cloves
- 1 cinnamon stick, broken
- 1 teaspoon allspice berries
- 1/2 whole nutmeg, grated
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
- 1 teaspoon dried rose petals (optional but traditional)
Instructions
- Toast the whole spices — cumin, coriander, peppercorns, cardamom, fennel, cloves, cinnamon and allspice — in a dry pan over medium heat, shaking, until fragrant and a shade darker, 3 to 4 minutes. Do not let them smoke.
- Tip onto a plate and cool completely. Grinding warm spices makes a paste.
- Grind to a fine powder in a spice grinder or mortar.
- Stir in the grated nutmeg, ginger, paprika, turmeric, cayenne and rose petals.
- Store in an airtight jar away from light.
Notes
- Keeps 6 months, but is noticeably better in the first two.
- Use in tagines, on roast lamb, or rubbed into carrots before roasting.