North African Ras El Hanout Spice Mix

French Tart's Note:

A "must" for nearly all Tagines, Couscous & North African recipes; I can always obtain it here in France but, as I list this in so many of my recipes I thought I would devise a "copycat" or cheat's spice mix which you can make up & have handy! It will be almost impossible to replicate this spice exactly as the orginal can contain up to 50 spices & very exotic ones such as rose petals, lavender, nigella & grains of paradise, but I have tried to incorporoate all the Traditional elements of this exotic mix, with spices that will be easily & readily available in most countries! Store it in an airtight & preferably dark tin/container, and in a cool & dry place; depending on the freshness of the spices you have used & your storage conditions, this should last for up to 6 months. You can buy this as Yellow or Red Ras-el-Hanout, I have made up the yellow version - it's the one I mainly use in my cooking! Please note - this is NOT a hot spice mix - but an aromatic & very fragrant one! If you want to "perk" it up a bit, add more cayenne pepper. I have added optional ingredients - spices which may be difficult to obtain, but if you have them, add them!! Would make a great gift too! Recipes that use Ras-el-Hanout are: Easy Crock Pot Moroccan Chicken, Chickpea and Apricot Tagine Fragrant Moroccan Beef, Date, Honey and Prune Tagine - Crock Pot and Cheat's Easy Spiced Couscous With Fruit and Nuts - in a Jar!

• Total Time: 10 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 0 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 6-8

Yield: 1.0 Jar

• 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3 teaspoons ground cumin
• 3 teaspoons ground turmeric
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons ground cardamom
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon mace
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon ground celery seed
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons cornflour

OPTIONAL

• 1 teaspoon dried crushed rose petal
• 1 teaspoon nigella seeds
• ½ teaspoon anise seed
• ¼ teaspoon powdered saffron

Directions:

1. Mix all the spice together in a large bowl and store them in an airtight container.
2. Store in a cool and dry place.
3. Depending on the freshness of the spices used & the storage conditions, this spice mix should last for up to 6 months.
4. Use in all Moroccan & North African dishes such as Tagines & Couscous; I also use this spice in preserving - recipes to be posted!
5. N.B. The cornflour acts as a stabiliser for this spice mix.

Reviews

[Chef #985966]

I use this all the time and it is excellent. I have it in an unmarked container on my spice rack and people always ask to smell it--leading most often to a unison "wow". Seriously, just try making this spice mixture sometime. I have no doubt your experience will mirror mine; you'll be looking for dishes to use this in constantly.

[Chef #698558]

I recently was diagnosed with kidney failure and was searching for low salt recipes and found this. I just substituted garlic powder for the garlic salt and ground celery seed for the celery salt. I have made beef stew twice and a chicken stir fry and take the leftovers to work and it is delicious (in fact twice when I went to get the second container of leftovers and my wife had already eaten it on me!). Thank you so much.

[FloridaNative]

This is WONDERFUL! I had everything on-hand to mix this up, and used the optional saffron. I used this in Timman Z'affaran (Iraqi Saffron Rice With Meat) in place of the baharat spice. Thanks for posting, I'll be using this for a variety to things in the future. Made for ZWT6 - NA*ME Region and the Queens of Quisine!