SC - tagine?

[Robert Gonzalez]

excellent information Anahita! thank you!
I would only add that if someone is going to be making spice blends to get a
coffee grinder and using that instead of their blender. A dedicated on
preferably unless you don't mind spicy tasting coffee. =o)
Also I wouldn't neccessarily consider morrocan food OOP  just not european.
How can i make contact with Francisco Sirene? I would like to get ahold of
some of those spices.
Thanks again,
Roberto

- -----Original Message-----
From: lilinah at grin.net <lilinah at grin.net>
To: sca-cooks at Ansteorra.ORG <sca-cooks at Ansteorra.ORG>
Date: Wednesday, July 14, 1999 2:55 PM
Subject: Re: SC - tagine?


>Roberto Maroquin de Aragon wrote:
>
>>here is a Tajine recipe I got from David Rosengarten's show Taste. on
>>the food network.
><snipped and moved>
>>(Adapted from Paula Wolfert Recipe)
>
>I highly recommend Paula Wolfert's cook books, any of them:
> Mediterranean Cooking
> The Cooking of South-West France
> The Cooking of the Eastern Mediterranean
>
>I am especially fond of the Moroccan one, although it is not at all
"period":
> Couscous and Other Good Foods from Morocco
> copyright 1973
> Harper and Row
> ISBN 0-06-014721-0
>
>>BTW the Ras el Hanout mentioned is a spice blend which varies from place
to
>>place. It means basically the best of the shop. meaning that if you go to
a
>>spice store and ask for ras el hanout you will get a blend of the top 15
or
>>20 spices in the store. In the show David made a blend which include a few
>>basic things like annise and cinnomon as well as some more exotic items
like
>>rose buds and orange blossom. unfortunately the web Food Network website
did
>>not give the ingredients of that blend. Should have taped that one...
>
>In "Couscous and Other Good Foods from Morocco", she has a discussion of
>ras el hanout.
>
>I asked some time ago if anyone know if ras el hanout was period, and if so
>did anyone have a recipe, but got only resounding silence in return. So,
>here's what Paula has to say about Ras (head) el Hanout (of the shop):
>
>(begin quoted section)
>p. 24  "Ras el hanout, which means, literally, "top of the shop," seems to
>fascinate everyone, foreigners and Moroccans alike. It is a very old
>mixture of many spices, sometimes ten, sometimes nineteen, sometimes
>twenty-six; Moroccans have told me of a ras el hanout that contained more
>than a hundred ingredients.
>
>It is incorrest to think of ras el hanout as a curry powder by another
>name, It lacks the abundance of fenugreek, coriander seeds, mustard seeds,
>poppy seeds, and cumin of commercial curry. Though theoretically almost
>anything is permissible in ras el hanout-even dried garlic and
>saffon-obviously some mixtures are better than others. The aphrodisiacs
>(Spanish fly, ash berries, and monk's pepper) that appear in most formulae
>seem to be the reason why the mere mention of this mixture will put a gleam
>into a Moroccan cook's eye.
>
>Ras el hanout is used in Moroccan game dishes' in mrouzia (Lamb Tagine with
>Raisins, Almonds, and Honey, p. 286), a sweet lamb dish; in the hashhish
>candy called Majoun (p. 314); in various rice and couscous stuffings; and
>even in some recipes for bisteeya. I bought a packet in the Attarine
>quarter of Fez, where it si sold in brut form, and after a long analysis, a
>friend in New York who is a spice merchant and I came up with the following
>list of ingredients:
>
>Allspice
>Ash berries (Holarrhen, called lissan ettir in Morocco. A tan, elongated
>spice that looks like a bird's tongue and is alleged to have strong
>medicinal and aphrodisiacal properties.)
>Belladonna leaves
>Black cummin seeds (Nigella arvensis sativa, called habet el soudane in
>Morocco)
> [Anahita's note: i think this is called kalonji in India]
>Black peppercorns
>Cantharides (Lytta vesicatoria, called debbal el hand in Morocco. The very
>sight of these green, metallic beetles, called "Spanish fly" terrifies me)
>Cardamom pods (Eletteria cardamomum, called qaqual in Morocco)
>Wild cardamom pods (Eletteria cardamomum, var. major, called abachi in
>Morocco, and popularly known as "bitter black cardamom"...)
> [Anahita's note: you can sometimes find these in Indian shops]
>Cayenne
>Cassia cinnamon
>Ceylon cinnamon
>Cloves
>Coriander seed
>Cubeb pepper
>Earth almonds (Cyperus esculentus, called tara soudania in Morocco... a
>perfumed chestnut taste)
>Galingal (Alpinia galanga, called kedilsham in Morocco... In Indonesia it
>is frequently used, and is called laos)
>Ginger
>Gouza el asnab (...a kind of nut...I have not been able to identify its
>botanical name and am indebted to the Fez bookbook of Mme. Z. Guinaudea for
>being able to identify it at all)
>Grains of paradise
>Long pepper
>Lavender
>Mace
>Monk's pepper (Agnus castus, called kheroua in Morocco. Another potent
>aphrodesiac.)
>Nutmeg
>Orrisroot
>Turmeric
>
>[Anahita's note: i have not included all her excellent notes on most of the
>spices, only on those that are a bit obscure, or this would be much longer
>- of course what's obscure to one person may be commonplace to another - if
>you have more questions, i'll selectively quote more of her notes.]
>
>p. 26  With a  Moroccan girl who lives in New York, I worked out an
>American formula for ras el hanout that obviously lacks some of the rare
>Moroccan items like cubeb peppers and the aphrodisiacs. Nevertheless, it's
>a pretty good approximation.
>
>Try to make it yourself if you want; your blender will undoubtedly survive
>all these nuts, sticks, barks, and seeds, but the aroma will linger on--ras
>el hanout is strong. (Follow with a separate grinding of cane sugar and
>your blender will be clear and clean). Grind the following ingredients in a
>blender until you obtain a fine mix, then sieve:
>
>4 whole nutmegs 1/2 tsp. lavender
>10 rosebuds 1 Tb. white peppercorns
>12 cinnamon sticks 2 pieces of galangal
>12 blades mace 2 Tb. whole gingerroot
>1 tsp. aniseed 6 cloves
>8 pieces turmeric 24 allspice berries
>2 small pieces orrisroot 20 white or green cardamom pods
>2 dried cayenne peppers 4 wild (black) cardamom pods
>
>[Anahita's note: because of the good services of fellow listee and spice
>merchant, Francisco Sirene (or your other preferred spice merchant) we here
>have the option of adding both kinds of cinnamon, black cummin, grains of
>paradise, and long pepper, if we want to experiment ourselves. And you may
>want to "bump up" the amount of cayenne a little.]
>
>p. 27  A rather simple recipe for ras el hanout--although far less
>thrilling to make or use--can be made with the following formula (buying in
>ounces from a spice merchant and grinding at home):
>
>1/2 ounce allspice berries 1-1/2 ounces dried gingerroot
>1 ounce black peppercorns 1/2 ounce stick cinnamon
>1/2 ounce galingal or laos roots 1/4 ounce turmeric
>1/2 ounce mace blades 3 rosebuds
>1-1/2 whole nutmegs 1 clove
>10 cardomom pods
>
>(end quoted section)
>
>Happy eating,
>
>Anahita Gaouri bint-Karim al-hakim al-Fassi
>
>
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