Topic: Ras el hanout?

[Invisible Mike]

Hi All

Not exactly BIR but I'm about to embark on a spot of moroccan cookery and wondered if anyone knew of any decent brands/suppliers/recipes of ras el hanout?

Being the purist that I am I would ideally like something with a bit of provenance as I do worry that some spice blends are less than authentic as one recipe often differs so much from the next. (Garam masala being a classic example.) I want my lamb and apricot tagine to taste like the real deal! 

Thanks

Mike

[fried]

I live in Paris and North African food is pretty much the standard local cuisine where I live. I buy the powder ready made the brand I use is 'Espig', this is a cheap brand that does most spices. The contents are coriander, tumeric, sweet paprika, carvi, rice flour, fenugreek, fennel, garlic and other spices. This is the 'yellow' version, there also exists a 'brown' version. This is the version that is found in all the local shops and Arabic butcher's, so I assume this is the one that most people use.

I got the missus to ask one of her collegues who's Moroccan and she said that Ras-el-hanout means head of the spice(man) in Arabic and in Morocco you just ask the spice dealer and he will mix it according to his recipe and your price. I'm not sure if different mixes are used for different dishes. The quantity of spices can vary from 3 or 4 to over 20 or 30.

Sounds a bit like a Garam masala to me.

Apparently it's very rare for people to bother making there own.

If you get some this is an unbelievably good use for it.

http://www.marmiton.org/recettes/recette_tajine-d-agneau-aux-citrons-confits-et-sa-compotee-d-oignons-a-la-marocaine_49191.aspx

I don't know what your French is like, but if you're interested I'll give you a translation.

[Naga]

This link may also interest you. It gives a basic mix for Ras-el-Hanout as well as loads of Moroccan recipes and other info.

There's also a reference to Rick Stein elsewhere on this blog and his (streamlined) recipe for the spice mix is:

1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground ginger
I teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

And thanks to fried for the link to marmiton - that's gone straight into my bookmarks!

[fried]

I was just reading that one of the umpteenth possible ingredients in Ras-el-hanout was 'Spanish fly' for it's aphrodisiac properties. Unfortunately, it's also poisonous and was banned in Morocco in the 90s.

[Invisible Mike]

Cheers for that guys those links are much appreciated. My French is a bit ropey Fried but I managed to translate the page.
I actually emailed a few reputable Moroccan restaurants to see if they could help but as is often the case they are being a bit cagey. (I did a similar thing when I first set out on my BIR quest. I emailed every restaurant on Ladypool Road for recipes naively thinking they would be happy to share a few tips...needless to say I got no replies!