Everyday Epicurean

This recipe for Ras al Hanout is inspired by Greg Malouf’s “Moorish” cookbook – if you don’t have this book you should add it to your collection. Ras al Hanout is a spice blend of Moroccan origin and can be used in many dishes, including soups and tagines. Ras al Hanout goes well with rice and couscous.

Ingredients

• 1 tspn of cumin seeds
• 1 tspn of coriander seeds
• 6 cardamom pods (seeds only)
• 1/2 tspn of black peppercorns
• 2 tspns of sweet paprika
• 1 tspn of cinnamon powder (one stick, ground up, generally gives a teaspoon, or for a more aromatic version use Dutch Cinnamon)
• 1 tspn of tumeric
• 1 tspn of chilli powder or cayenne pepper
• 1 tspn of salt (preferably freshly ground sea salt)
• 1/2 tspn of sugar (dark molasses or palm sugar works well)
• 1/2 tspn of allspice (also known as pimento)
• 3 cloves
• 1/4 tspn of caraway seeds
• 1/4 tspn of anise seeds

Method

Dry fry each of the seeds (cumin, coriander, cardamom, peppercorns, caraway, anise and cloves) separately in a small pan. Move the cooked spices to a mortar and pestle and grind together. Combine all ingredients in a small crucible.

Notes

Store in a tightly sealed container in a dark place.

I find 1 to 1.5 teaspoons of this spice mix is plenty for a large stew.

References

Moorish – Flavours from Mecca to Marrakash”
Authors: Greg and Lucy Malouf
ISBN: 1-876719-98-2
Published: Hardie Grant Books , 2001