Ras El Hanout

✨ Ras El Hanout — The Heart of Moroccan Cooking

Ras el hanout (رأس الحانوت, often written راس الحانوت and pronounced “ras lhanout” in Darija) is Morocco’s signature spice blend. The name means “head of the shop”: each spice seller, the attar, composed his own house blend from the choice spices on his shelves. Known in French simply as ras el hanout or mélange d’épices marocain, it is a warm, golden-brown powder with a deep aroma of cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger, gently peppery and slightly floral.

🌿 Traditional and Cultural Uses

In Moroccan homes ras el hanout has long been the spice of celebration. Families kept it for the dishes of Eid al-Adha, above all mrouzia, the sweet lamb tagine with raisins, almonds and honey, and for weddings and family feasts. Grandmothers added it to hearty winter dishes, as it was traditionally considered a warming blend for cold days, and it was traditionally used to help the body digest rich, slow-cooked meals. Every region, and every family, kept its own balance of spices, passed down from one generation to the next.

🍵 How to Use

• 🍲 Tagines of lamb, beef or chicken, with prunes, apricots or vegetables
• 🥘 Couscous broth and seven-vegetable couscous
• 🍖 Kefta, grilled meat, and rubs or marinades for poultry
• 🐟 Fish, lentils, chickpeas and roasted vegetables
• 🥣 A pinch in harira or a winter soup

A little goes a long way: start with about one teaspoon per kilo of meat and adjust to taste.

🥣 Recipe: Simple Chicken Tagine with Ras El Hanout

1. Rub 1 kg of chicken pieces with 1 teaspoon of ras el hanout, 1 teaspoon of salt, 2 crushed garlic cloves and 3 tablespoons of olive oil.
2. Spread 2 sliced onions in the tagine or a heavy pot and lay the chicken on top.
3. Add a handful of chopped coriander and parsley and about half a glass of water.
4. Cover and cook on a low heat for about 1 hour, until the chicken is tender and the sauce has thickened.
5. Add preserved lemon and olives for the last 10 minutes, then serve with bread.

🧾 Ingredients

Ras el hanout has no single fixed formula. A traditional Moroccan blend like this one usually contains:

• Cinnamon (قرفة) and ginger (سكنجبير)
• Turmeric (الخرقوم) and galangal (خودنجال)
• Nutmeg (كوزة) and mace (بسباسة)
• Long pepper (دار فلفل), white pepper and allspice
• Cardamom (القاقلة), cloves (عود النوار) and star anise (البديانة)
• Ash tree seeds (لسان الطير)

Our photographs show these spices whole, before they are ground together.

🔬 Product Profile

• Type: a blend of dried barks, roots, fruits, seeds and flower buds from several plant families
• Tradition: Moroccan, in the style of the attar’s house blend
• Form: ground powder
• Aroma: warm, sweet-spicy and peppery

📦 How We Sell It

Ground ras el hanout powder, available in 100g, 250g, 500g, 1kg, 2kg, 3kg and 5kg. The small packs suit a home kitchen; the larger weights suit families cooking for Eid, restaurants and caterers.

🌤️ Storage

Keep it in an airtight jar in a cool, dry place, away from sunlight and the steam of the stove, and always use a dry spoon. Stored well, it keeps its aroma for many months and is at its most fragrant in the first six months after opening.