There is a “Hanout” of sorts in my neighborhood. A Hanout /emphatic “H”- noot/ is small corner convenience store in Morocco that has everything. They are not like convenience stores in the US: There are no aisles, no restrooms, no self-serve cappuccino; you step in off of the street and usually, in Kenitra anyway, there is only enough room for a few people to stand. There are coolers with Sidi Ali water, orange juice, and apple soda. You ask the man behind the counter for what you need; a coke, some diapers, a mint bunch, a laughing cow baguette sandwich, eggs, a can of peas, laundry detergent, toilet paper, chips. He either has it behind the counter, stocked on the floor-to-ceiling shelf, or sometimes he’ll have it in a back room somewhere.
The corner food/dollar grocery on 6th and M is owned by an Ethiopian family. You can get most rudimentary household items as well as the essential half gallon of milk. I didn’t feel like braving the local Safeway for the latter so I dropped in my “hanout”. As I perused the shelves of atypical merchandise, some glasses caught my eye. Not only were they on sale, they were “made in the KSA” as the label proudly read. Sure, I need some Saudi Arabian coffee glasses, right?
After a pleasant chat (1/2 in Arabic, even though Ethiopians speak Amharic- “for you, good price” ) with the man behind the bullet-proof window, I walked home with my milk and glasses.
I had read about the smooth and strong cardomom-rich Saudi coffee in In the Land of Invisible Women: A Female Doctor’s Journey in the Saudi Kingdom and having just recently shopped at an Indian grocery store, I had a selection of spices to expend.
I looked up a few recipes:
http://www.aramcoexpats.com/Internal-Links/Aramcon-Recipes/Arab-Favorites/1435.aspx
http://www.foodbycountry.com/Kazakhstan-to-South-Africa/Saudi-Arabia.html
I made mine in the following way.
I used my Moka coffee pot. I used espresso coffee grounds and about 1 tablespoon of cardamom. I brought it to class to share with my students. There wasn’t any left over.
