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Ras El Hanout – The Supreme Spice Mix |
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 Ras el Hanout! What lies behind this mysterious name? A sublime mixture with its aromatic, warm and sensual fragrance and subtle, slightly sweet flavour.
This spice mix, the top blend of the shop, as its name suggests,adds, in the most refined way, an incomparable complexity offlavours to the dishes it enhances. It is the essential ingredient andcatalyst in the multiple flavours of M'rouzia, the signature dish ofAid el Kebir.
Ras-el-Hanout, literally means “top of the shop” in Arabic as this spice mix is the flagship product of Moroccan spice merchants (attars). It is used exclusively in Moroccan cuisine and though it can contain up to 50 spices, it is generally made up of about 20. Simplified ras el hanout mixtures containing less that 10 spices can also be found and are most widely found in general commerce.
Blended and mixed according to the expertise and imagination of the attar and the demands and afford of the customer, Ras-el-Hanout can vary from the simplest to the most complex. While mixtures vary, some spices are essential such as cubebe pepper, mace, ginger, cardamom, nutmeg, pepper and turmeric. It can also contain dried flowers such as rosebuds, different varieties of pepper, cloves or galangal. It also varies from region to region and tradition dictates that all mixtures should contain at least one aphrodisiac (ginger, ash fruit or Spanish fly)
Although we have no documentation testifying to the origins of Ras-el-hanout, we can safely say that it originated in the “hadaria” towns of Morocco whose refinement in the fields of artisanal work, art de vivre and gastronomy have always excelled. It was originally made to preserve meat. Although women were skilled in the preparation of salted khlii and guedid, it was ras-el-hanout that gave these preparations their exceptional flavours – salty, sweet and fragrant – as well as their golden hue.
RAS EL HANOUT IN COOKING
There are many recipes for Ras el Hanout that constitute a mixture of specific quanitities of spices depending on its intended use (m'rouzia, certain sweet and salty tajines, certain couscous dishes (douara couscous from Larache, so called because it causes dizziness). It is used in winter dishes intended to warm the body and is always used in game recipes. It is also used to spice certain Middle Eastern pastries and, in fact, combines very well with honey, almonds and dates.
The spice mixture is also used to flavour coffee in certain regions of Morocco. In Europe, the passion for ras el hanout is forever growing and the famous spice company Ducros offers a toned down version in their range. It is used to enhance simmered dishes with sauce, to add flavour to white fish and shellfish and to sweet vegetables such as carrots, pumpkin or turnip. It is also used to flavour rice.
THE SIGNATURE DISH OF AID EL KEBIR
M'ROUZIA
While ras el hanout underpins and enhances the flavour of sweet/salty dishes – it remains the key spice mixture in m'rouzia and is responsible for its unique taste. You could even be tempted to say that ras el hanout was invented specially for m'rouzia. Each spice contributes its own special flavour and fragrance to the dish. Spices such as pepper (long, white and Jamaican (allspice) and cubebe (tailed pepper) bring it all the force of their flavours. Other, more subtle spices add fragrance and colour to the recipe. Here we have mastic, sesame seeds, pure saffron threads, turmeric, ginger and mace. As for dried flowers, rose buds and lavender, they add their perfume and fruity flavour to the mix. Ras el Hanout also contains ingredients reputed as aphrodisiacs such as ash fruit (lsan attayr) and Spanish fly. All these spices, expertly mixed, are added to a little water. Pieces of lamb are macerated in the mixture so as to absorb all the richness of its complimentary flavours. The alchemy of spices combined with slow simmering of the m'rouzia over a coal fire gives the dish its incomparable succulence and fragrance. Raisins and almonds contribute a crunchy, sweet touch that slightly counters the intensity of certain spices. Honey coats the dish with a syrupy sweetness and gives a golden, shiny appearance to the finished dish.
Amina Boudraa
Copyright saveursetcuisinedumaroc.com N° 20 |
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