Essential spices for Moroccan cuisine

The spices are primarily used for flavouring, colouring or preserving food
To prepare tagines, couscous and other dishes, spices are the essential ingredients in Moroccan plat.

Some of the most common spices are Ras elhanout , Saffron-zafaran , Ginger or skinjbir , Black pepper , Cumin , Cinnamon, Cayenne , Coriander , Cardamon , Paprika Turmeric ,,,

Ras Ehanout

which means head of shops its a spice that contain around 20 different spices all mixed.Ras el hanout is the most commonly used spice in the Moroccan cuisine, it is used practically in all tagines also used for the couscous and other dishes of meat or fish.

Saffron-zafaran

Saffron comes from a flower, “the pistil of Crocus sativus”.
Morocco is the biggest producer of Saffron, particularly in the region of the High Atlas,the Taliouine region is very popular of producing saffron.

The word “saffron” comes from Arabic word “Asfar ” which means yellow, in Arabic. It is used with tagines or with soup “harira” .

Ginger or skinjbir

Ginger is the rhizome of the plant Zingiber is used in cooking.The rhizome is first dried then put as a powder.

It is one of the main ingredients of Moroccan cuisine, it is used in tagines , couscous , and soups.

Cumin

Cumin is part of the coriander , its very aromatic with a slightly bitter taste , is used with tagines , eggs , meats , and salads as well.

To form the cumin used in cooking, seeds are first dried then put powder,