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Ras el Hanout Spice Mixture

A bombastic recipe for North-Africa’s most famous spice mixture - Ras el Hanout!

Every Balabusta in Morocco prides herself in her own unique Ras-el-Hanout recipe. Click here for the story behind the scenes of this wonderful spice-mixture.

The number of variations is varied as the number of households in North-Africa, below is a traditional recipe for a home-made Ras el Hanout spice mixture:

Ingredients (for 0.75 cup)

• 1 tsp coriander seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 tsp black peppercorn seeds
• 0.5 tsp cardamom seeds
• 0.5 tsp clove seeds
• 0.5 tsp allspice seeds
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 0.5 tsp white pepper
• 0.5 tsp ground nutmeg
• 0.5 tsp ground mace
• 0.5 tsp ground ginger
• 0.5 tsp ground cinnamon
• 0.5 tsp ground turmeric
• 0.5 tsp saffron (optional)
• 3 tsp sweet paprika (optional)

Preparation

During the entire process - make sure all the work surfaces are clean and dry (a single drop of water can ruin the mixture).

Put a frying pan on high heat for 1-2 minutes and then lower it to medium heat, in the meantime mix the first 6 ingredients (the seeds) and then pour them evenly on the pan while stirring constantly. Toast them until they are a bit colored and produce a strong aroma.

Remove the seeds from the pan, into a grinder (or more traditionally - mortar and pestle) and while grinding them to fine powder, add the rest of the ingredients, until you reach a uniform mixture.

Bottle it up in a sealed, clean and dry container, put it in a cool, dark place. Never ‘double-dip’ while using it and this mixture can easily last between 4 to 6 months.

Besseha! (Bon Appetit)

by: Amit Rabin