If you are familiar with Morrocan cuisine then chances are you have heard of Ras el Hanout. It’s an enigmatic spice blend that can be found in many dishes from the country. In fact when you think of the flavors of Morroco more than likely you are thinking about Ras el Hanout.
But what exactly is it?
Well, when translated it means either “Head or top of the shop”. This is because a typical Ras el Hanout is a mixture of the best spices that as Moroccan spice shop has to offer. However, what constitutes the “best” spices for one shop can often differ from the next. Compound this with the fact that the spice mixture is often a closely guarded secret and it becomes almost impossible to define a definitive recipe for Ras el Hanout.
That being said there are a few spices that practically every Ras el Hanout has. These include anise, black pepper, chili powder, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, cumin, ginger, nutmeg, and turmeric. However, the typical blend includes a lot more spices than that, with some even including 60 different spices. Which is a little overboard in my opinion, but hey if that’s what you like then go for it. Luckily today we aren’t going to use that many spices, keeping it around 15. So without further to do let me show you my Ras el Hanout blend.
Tips, Tricks & Suggestions
- Whole vs powder spices? Well obviously whole spices will have a stronger flavor than powdered. That being said no one can argue against the convince of having spices that are already blended up. So really it’s up to you.
- As I said ras el hanout uses a variety of spices so feel free to add any spices to the mix that you like, or remove any spices that you don’t like.
- Check out our other spice blend bbq dry rub.
Ras el Hanout Recipe
Total time: 2 minutes
Servings: 1 cup of spice blend
Ingredients
2 Teaspoons of each:
Cumin
Coriander
Cloves
All Spice
Black pepper
White pepper
Mace
Cardamom
Star Anise
Anise or fennel
Ground ginger
Chili powder
Cinnamon
Tumeric powder
Nutmeg
Instructions
- Grind any whole spices that you might be using: You can either use a mortar and pestle, or a coffee/spice grinder. Either way make sure to grind any whole spices until they are a fine powder.
- Get out a small bowl and mix all of the spices together.
- Either use the spice blend now, or store it in a jar for later use.
Ras el Hanout Recipe
Ingredients
2 Teaspoons of each
- Cumin
- Coriander
- Cloves
- All Spice
- Black pepper
- White pepper
- Mace
- Cardamom
- Star Anise
- Anise or fennel
- Ground ginger
- Chili powder
- Cinnamon
- Tumeric powder
- Nutmeg
Instructions
- Grind any whole spices that you might be using: You can either use a mortar and pestle, or a coffee/spice grinder. Either way make sure to grind any whole spices until they are a fine powder.
- Get out a small bowl and mix all of the spices together.
- Either use the spice blend now, or store it in a jar for later use.
Check out some other ras el hanout blends
From My Moroccan Food
From An Edible Mosaic
