From time to time you might want to give a little razzle to your rice, or kick start your couscous. Or you might want to give a Moroccan flavour to meat or chicken.

All you need, to make like a Marakchi is a spoonful of Ras el Hanout, otherwise known as Top of the Shop, a mixture of up to 40 different spices that may or may not have aphrodisiac qualities.

Amal put together this blend – which she dismissed as being a simple one - of just 22 spices. I’ve done my best, and can identify the following:

• Mace
• Star anis
• Fennel seeds
• Ginger
• Cloves
• Cardamom
• 2 kinds of cinnamon
• Black pepper
• White pepper
• Nigerian pepper
• Turmeric
• Galangal
• Nutmeg plus a different nutmeg-type thing
• Black sesame – nigella
• Cubeb
• Monk’s pepper (actually an anaphrodisiac, aka chaste berry)
• Coriander
• Cumin
• Allspice

Grind them up, inhale deeply, and cast your mind back to that pastilla, eaten one balmy summer night on the rooftop under the stars…