Around the shop

Sold to tourists and even now in Tesco's is a spice mix called Rash el Hanut. This literally means  "all Round the shop" and relates to the way town-based moroccans buy their spices in very small quantities so that they are as fresh as possible.  So when you go to the our local greengrocers, strangely not the hanut which is more of a small alimentation there's one every 50 yards, you can see people buying the spices for that days tajine with the greengrocer literally going round several small sacks and adding a spoonful or so of each into a plastic bag. At the spice stall in the market there will be a separate ready-mixed pyramid, often artistically arranged with the separate colours in stripes. Obviously then rash el hanut not only varies from seller to seller but also from day to day although only subtly. It is the basis of all tajines.

A good approximation is equal quantities of paprika,cumin and ground coriander (2 teaspoons of each for a 4-6 person casserole) with salt to taste.  A more sophisticated blend although more like catering quantities is as follows

1/2 teaspoon  cloves
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
2    teaspoons allspice
2    teaspoons cumin 
2    teaspoons ginger
2    teaspoons tumeric
2    teaspoons black pepper 
2    teaspoons cardoman
3    teaspoons cinnamon
3    teaspoons coriander
2    freshly grated nutmeg

all measurements for ground spices