Ras el hanout

[Chancer]

Following a recommendation here I bought a jar of this from the arab market and have been experimenting with it.

I quite like the flavor but for me it has no heat at all so I have to add chilli powder, when I check the seasoning during cooking I notice a very sweet flavor, its less apparent in the finished dish and it could just be the onions but its something that I often taste in French curry mixes and why I dont buy them.

I cannot find a definitive list of ingredients other than those that are commonly used, no different really to a masala, my question is, is it likely to contain sugar or is it just a peculiarity of the taste?

I hope its not sugar because the taste when it is rélévé with the chilli powder I really like but I try to avoid all sugars except those in fruit.

[NormanH]

I found this recipe to make your own. You will notice that there is very little with a 'hot' flavour except perhaps ginger in it.

http://moroccanfood.about.com/od/maindishes/r/ras_el_hanout_recipe.htm

I wouldn't be at all surprised if ready-made versions had added sugar as this is a usual trick of manufacturers of processed food.

Remember also that France is the country where they offer you powdered sugar with a natural yoghurt [:-))]

[Bernice]

There is no definitive list of ingredients, it varies with each supplier.  Some mixes contain dried rose petals which could account for the sweet taste, rose water is common in Arabic cooking.  Here's a basic list - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ras_el_hanout

Bernice

[Chancer]

As I said I had already found a list of common or if you like basic ingredients, I cant smell rose petals but then maybe thats because I am always falling in barrels of ..............  [:-))]

I tend to agree with Normans view, funny how all the French seem to think its a spice hotter than Hades!!!!

I just love eating out with them when they think that being English I wont have experienced foreign food like them with their cultured palates, peu importe that I have been round the world twice and few of them have even visited the next town, they say with all seriousness, "fait gaffe c'est trés trés rélévé!!" but all it is is sweet and the colour of toxic waste that no spice has.

Come to think of it this jar has that colour.........................

[Cendrillon]

"...........................but all it is is sweet and the colour of toxic waste that no spice has."

is it old stock?

[Chancer]

Thankfully even the French arabs dont yet feel obliged to put à consommer avant dates on spices!!!

Mind you by the same measure they dont list the ingredients either, secret recipé, they would have to kill you if they did.

 

My flippant comments about colour and sweetness refer generally to what is served up in resto's or the curry powders found in French shops, this one I quite like once I have souped it up and actually the colour is not far off that of curcuma.

Best of all I liked the price, a big jar for a fraction of what the supermarkets want for a tiny one.

The brand is Darna and in tiny print I can see that it is made by El Ramassa in Barçelone.

[idun]

It is the harissa that is hot. When I am making morrocan food I mix a little of the sauce with the harissa and let  people put on as much as they want. If I do not think that the harissa as potent as it should be I add a little cayenne to it.

The other spices are what I call fragrant and add taste but  not heat.