Moroccan Spice Blend - Ras el Hanout

Like Indian cooks with their curry blends, Moroccan cooks and spice merchants pride themselves on their ras el hanout, which may contain over a dozen spices - even more than a hundred! The name literally means 'top of the shop', meaning a mixture of the best spices a vendor offers.

According to wikipedia, ras el hanout blends usually start with cardamon, clove, cinnamon, chili peppers, coriander, cumin, nutmeg, peppercorn and turmeric. Sometimes it also contains spices some of us in the Western Hemisphere have never even heard of.

You can make your own blend by combining ground spices, or by grinding the whole spices, leaves and roots in a mini food processor or coffee grinder (preferably one set aside for this purpose.) Though you may not always take the extra step, you'll get even more depth of flavor by toasting the spices first, whether whole or ground, in a hot, dry skillet.

Use this aromatic blend as a rub for grilling, or to season couscous and tagines (fairly dry stews). There may be other uses too; it's traditionally considered to be an aphrodisiac. No wonder - some blends contain hashish, cannabis or spanish fly!

This basic recipe is from the website whats4eats and makes about 1/2 cup. Add any of the suggested variations according to your taste to create your own custom blend. I'll also post about.com's version below. Store in an airtight container up to six months. Amazing as a steak rub. Also, see the post on this blog for an easy North African crock pot chicken recipe you can use this for (and also to season the accompanying couscous), here.


Basic ras el hanout:

1/4 c crumbled cinnamon sticks
2 T turmeric
1 T peppercorns
2 t ground ginger
2 t nutmeg
2 t cardamom seeds
2 t cloves
1/2 t cayenne

Suggested Variations

Allspice
Anise
Coriander
Cumin
Dried galangal (a relative of ginger, often used in Southeast Asia)
Fennel seeds
Lavender
Mace
Orris root (also used for drying pomanders!)
Saffron
Dried rosehips


Another ras el hanout blend:

2 t ground ginger
2 t ground cardamon
2 t cinnamon
1 t ground allspice
1 t ground coriander seeds
1 t ground nutmeg
1 t ground turmeric
1/2 t ground black pepper
1/2 t ground white pepper
1/2 t ground cayenne pepper
1/2 t ground anise seeds
1/4 t ground cloves